We tested the incremental impact of a job-related set of variables for explaining a utility judgment training effectiveness variable, that is, course completion skill preparedness, beyond background and course-related variables. Our respondents were two different emergency medical service samples, 415 basics and 742 paramedics, from the 2008 US…

Professional development is the key to curriculum-based reform, yet there is little empirical evidence upon which to base decisions of design or implementation of training and development programmes. This study examined the training and development needs of Ghana's polytechnic teachers in an existing curriculum reform scenario as they became…

This research is concerned with the professional learning and development of new teachers in the Scottish Teacher Induction Scheme, in particular, informal and formal learning, the workplace learning environment and the personal and professional characteristics of the induction year teacher. Building on the work of Unwin and Fuller and Hodkinson…

Lifelong learning has become one of the keys to making workers' career paths more secure at both the French and the European policy level. However, the implementation of these policy lines raises delicate questions as to how the responsibility for vocational training should be shared among employees, employers and public institutions. The…

Mentoring can be seen as relevant if not essential in the continuing professional development of entrepreneurs. In the present study, we seek to understand how to maximize the learning that occurs through the mentoring process. To achieve this, we consider various elements that the literature suggested are associated with successful mentoring and…

This paper reports an innovative continuing professional development (CPD) project for academic staff in a UK university. The aim of the project is to develop academics' skills in relating to the business environment. The project has a number of strands, but the principal focus of this paper is upon a mentoring initiative. Much CPD in universities…

This paper describes a career development program for staff involved in providing training for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. Most of these staff were professional vocational teachers in schools. The program uses information communication technology (ICT), and its main objective is to teach Moodle software as a tool for…

As doctors, nurses and public health professionals are promoted into management and leadership positions in resource-poor countries around the world, they are tasked with leading teams and managing drugs and financial and material resources. These responsibilities require a set of skills and knowledge different from that needed for their clinical…

Many are calling for increased continuing education for engineers, but few details are provided as to how to source that education. This paper recommends a strategy for sourcing continuing engineering education (CEE). Providers of CEE are categorized here as internal (the organization itself), external (universities, professional/trade…

Over the past four decades, governments in the least developed countries (LDCs--a categorization adopted by the United Nations) have been attempting to improve the skills and knowledge of their public servants by providing local and international training programs. Despite these training activities, however, many LDCs continue to experience acute…

The Philippines has a population of more than 94 million. In addition, 10 million Filipinos work and live overseas. Filipino talent is ubiquitous overseas, working in offices, universities, hotels and restaurants, factories, shopping malls, theaters and arenas, and private homes around the world. The country's projected high rate of economic…

Animated agents have the potential to increase engagement and learning during online training by acting as personalized tutors. However, little is known about the conditions that make these agents most effective. In this study, 183 e-learners completed a Microsoft Excel training course. Approximately half were assigned an agent with predetermined…

Perceived competence mobilization is the degree to which employees perceive that they have adequate opportunities to utilize their competences in their current jobs. The findings of the research reported here suggest that employees' perceived competence mobilization is associated with a number of favourable employee attitudes, including intrinsic…

In light of nationally mandated educational changes in Qatar, this study investigates in-service teachers' perceptions of professional development (PD). The aims are to identify challenges facing teachers' PD. The respondents were 40 in-service teachers from two schools in Doha, Qatar, who had received PD connected with national educational…

Although organizations invest billions of dollars in training every year, many trained competencies reportedly fail to transfer to the workplace. Researchers have long examined the "transfer problem", uncovering a wealth of information regarding the transfer of training. Inconsistencies remain, however, and organizations may find it difficult to…