Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing,
analysing and communicating spatial information
Training Needs Assessment
(TNA)
By: Rainer Zachmann
Unit: M03U02
Content
• Why assess training needs?
• Approach of TNA
• Semi-structured interviewing
Introduction
• Training needs assessment (TNA)
gives guidance for a productive training
event.
• Unit M03U02 helps to plan and implement
TNA.
Introduction
• TNA clarifies whether training is the
solution to a problem.
• Trainers decide how the factors described
are relevant for TNA.
Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing,
analysing and communicating spatial information
Why Assess Training Needs?
Why assess training needs?
• Training on PGIS is diverse and complex.
• TNA should be an open-ended, flexible
and dynamic process.
• A training programme depends on the
context.
Why assess training needs?
• TNA determines the current and desired
performance; the difference, or gap, is the
needed learning.
• TNA includes the political, economic,
social and cultural environment and the
physical and human resources available.
Why assess training needs?
• TNA collects information on knowledge,
skills and attitudes (KSA) needed for the
job.
• Participatory involvement of trainees is
necessary to ensure a sense of ownership
commitment, and accomplishment of
objectives.
Include relevant stakeholders
• Stakeholders help identify:
– sources of information;
– administrative and technical challenges;
– possible obstacles and proposed solutions.
What does TNA determine?
• Whether there is a real training need.
• The root causes of poor performance.
• The desired performance level
(i.e. the expected results of training).
What does TNA determine?
• Baseline data for planning content and
scope of training.
• Possible support from stakeholders,
concerned organisations and prospective
participants.
Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing,
analysing and communicating spatial information
Approach of Training
Needs Assessment
Relevancy
• Trainers decide to what extent these steps
are relevant for TNA:
– identify stakeholders with relevance to the
training process;
– ask about their expectations, concerns,
suggestions, possible conflicts of interest, etc.
– identify challenges that require training.
Factors for TNA
• TNA depends on:
– expertise present;
– time available and costs involved;
– reliability and importance of information;
– number and location of people involved;
– confidentiality of data;
– culture and social climate within an
organisation.
Job analysis
• Ask about job frequency, importance and
difficulties.
• Estimate priorities.
Interviews
• Yield in-depth information, background
and suggestions.
• Individual interviewing is labour-intensive.
• Groups of relevant people may be
interviewed together.
• Make sure to get viewpoints of everyone,
not just of the most outspoken people.
Questionnaires
• Collect specific information from a large
group.
• Questionnaires may not allow for free
expression.
Observations
• To assess skills, attitudes and behaviour
under real situations.
• Observations are time-consuming and
labour-intensive.
Skills and knowledge tests
• Skills tests assess skills.
• Inappropriate performance may be due to
lack of knowledge.
• Knowledge tests complement skills tests.
Performance data reviews
• Identify possible performance gaps
through data reviews.
• Insufficient performance may be
confounded with external factors that
cannot be solved through training.
Conclusions
• TNA makes sure that challenges can be
addressed by training.
• Non-training measures may be needed.
• Trainers discuss steps with the institutions
and people concerned.
Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing,
analysing and communicating spatial information
Semi-structured Interviewing
(SSI)
Interviewing
• Interviews are useful for gathering
information.
• But interviewing requires skills and
techniques.
Semi-structured interviewing
• Semi-structured interviewing requires
considerations on:
– the art of interviewing;
– content of the interview;
– guidelines for note taking.