Here's how you can align training programs with employees' career goals.

Employee Career Aspirations: Have one-on-one meetings to understand employees' long-term career goals, interests, and aspirations. Company Objectives: Align individual goals with the organization's strategic objectives to ensure mutual benefit.

In my experience, while many employees are clear about what they want, most play by the ear and are ambivalent about their career goals. Or they are not clear about the path they need to undertake to achieve those goals. The organization needs to understand its employees' goals and aspirations and draw out a clear career path for them to achieve them. This may be done through performance evaluations, formative assessments, and open discussions. The organization might also want to look at the longitudinal career paths of similar employees and share best practices on what they did to achieve their aspired career goals.

Conduct regular check-ins and career discussions to identify their ambitions. Tailor training opportunities to match these goals, ensuring that the skills they develop will help them advance in their desired career path. This boosts motivation and retention.

Individual Development Plans (IDPs): Work with employees to create personalized development plans that outline their career goals, strengths, and areas for improvement.

Without having explicit conversations about what we might want to achieve, in terms of professional or personal goals, we are rudderless boats at sea. Goals are only as strong as the support and plan we have to achieve them. No goal worth achieving follows a linear path. There are always setbacks. Which is why having people around to support and talk us through the “valleys” is so important.

Skills Inventory: Use assessments, surveys, and performance reviews to evaluate current skill levels and identify gaps. Strengths and Weaknesses: Identify each employee’s strengths and areas for improvement to tailor development plans.

Create an inventory of the skills required for each position in the organisation. Map the progression of the development of each skill and the outcome achieved when the skill is developed. Simultaneously, ensure each employee has an inventory of his / her own skills. Now the employee knows exactly where he wants to grow in terms of his / her growth. All that needs to be done is to sit with L&D or HR as the case may be and chart out a clear plan. This practice assists in creating a win-win for both the employee and the organisation.

1. Start by assessing the current skills of your employees through surveys, reviews and skill assessments. 2. Identify by encouraging employees to create plans outlining their career objectives and the steps needed to achieve them. 3. Match the training to the skill gaps. 4. Create personalized training plans based on the skill assessments and career goals through online courses, workshops etc.

Regular Career Discussions: Schedule regular career development conversations between employees and their managers to discuss career aspirations and update goals.

Most of the people you are training are part of the "customization generation" meaning they grew up customizing their social media feeds, their Netflix dashboard and much more... they like to be in control and feel something is customized specifically to them. Your training should meet them where they are and be no different... customize to their skills, goals and desires.

Personalized Learning Paths: Create training programs that cater to the specific needs and career goals of each employee. Varied Formats: Offer various formats (online courses, workshops, mentoring) to accommodate different learning styles.

Let's give this is a read: Create training programs that are tailored to each employee’s needs. This can include: a) Workshops and Seminars: Organize sessions focused on specific skills relevant to their career paths. b) Online Courses: Provide access to online courses that employees can choose based on their career goals. c) Mentorship and Coaching: Pair employees with mentors who have experience in the areas they want to develop. By designing customized training, you create a more motivated, engaged, and capable workforce.

The latest advances in AI technology have led to the emergence of a new category of software, the Autonomous Corporate Learning Platforms. These new “AI by design” platforms will be able to weigh up the company's skills repository and global skills plan, the one defined as closely as possible to the field by the first-line manager and the one defined by the employee him/her-self. These needs expressed at every level of the company will enable these new platforms to fine-tune learning and scale training/individual coaching.

Skills Assessment: Conduct skills assessments to identify gaps between current capabilities and future career goals. Explore cross-functional indirect training.

Regular Check-ins: Schedule periodic reviews to assess progress and adjust training plans as needed. KPIs and Metrics: Use key performance indicators and other metrics to track improvements and identify areas needing further development.

In my experience, monitoring the efficacy of training undertaken by the employee is critical. However, not all organizations employ the correct approach. Such evaluations need to be agile, dynamic, and multifaceted. A summative assessment after the training program that compares pre and post-training results is not enough. There need to be multiple 'formative assessments' at the end of each module/topic during the training to evaluate the trainee. This makes the training process more agile and dynamic. In addition, behavioral improvements also need to be evaluated once the employee completes their training, which may be done using 360-degree feedback sessions or other internal organizational mechanisms.

Tailored Training Programs: Design training programs that address these skills gaps and support employees’ career aspirations. Offer a mix of formal training, on-the-job learning, mentoring, and coaching.

Open Communication: Foster an environment where employees feel comfortable providing feedback on training programs. Adjustments: Use feedback to continually improve and tailor training programs to better meet employees' needs.

1. Actively listen to their career aspirations and training requests. 2. Create a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. Example: Use anonymous surveys, online feedback forms, or create a suggestion box to make it easy for employees to share their honest opinions. 3. Use feedback to create programs that address specific needs and career goals. 4. Show employees you value their input and act on their suggestions. Example: Share training program updates based on feedback, and highlight how employee input led to changes.

Career Pathing: Create clear career paths within the organization, detailing the skills and experiences needed for various roles. Provide visibility into potential career opportunities.

It would be best to start with a business vision map, understanding what you need from your employees to achieve the desired results. Then, is the art of knowing what those employees need from you, the company, to be the most productive and efficient to move the company forward. Understand their fears, needs, and wants and make them feel understood. Ask for collaboration. If they love what they do and the company they represent, their performance will show this.

- **Skills Assessment:** Identify current skills and gaps through assessments. - **Individual Development Plans:** Create personalized development plans for each employee. - **Feedback:** Incorporate employee feedback to ensure training relevance. - **Career Pathways:** Map training to clear career progression paths. - **Industry Trends:** Stay updated on industry trends and emerging skills. - **Mentorship Opportunities:** Include mentorship to support growth. - **Measurable Outcomes:** Set and track measurable training outcomes.

INTEGRATE CLASSROM EDUCATION INTO REAL WORK SETTINGS It is very important to build training plans starting from listening to the training needs of employees and to avoid having programs designed and chosen solely by the manager. Additionally, once the training program is completed, it is crucial for the manager to be actively involved so that the employee can integrate new concepts and skills learned in the classroom into real work settings. This approach has been proven to be the best way for adults to learn.