The Role of the National Training Awards in Improving Employee Development in the Current Political, Economical, Social and Technical Environment in the United Kingdom
Introduction
Training and employee development serves to be one of the most beneficial strategies in any organization. This is because employee development, allows individuals in the organization to enhance their skills and talents, gain knowledge and new learning regarding themselves and the organization, and further contribute to the success of the organization. In this regard, employee development strategies would provide realization to any employee that he or she is not considered a commodity, but a valuable and indispensable partner of the organization, in its aim to succeed in the industry. Due to the importance of employee development in all organizations in all sectors of the industry, this paper aims to discuss and emphasize the role of the National Training Awards or NTA in the United Kingdom in terms of the different aspects in the society, including the economy, politics, and technology. Such will be done through the brief description, purposes, and aims of the NTA. In addition, its role in the current system would be stressed through its impacts in employee development, in terms of the different aspects mentioned. Afterwards, a conclusion would be provided to highlight the important points the paper has emphasized.
The National Training Awards
It has been reported that the National Training Awards or NTA are the number one accolade in the United Kingdom, for businesses, organizations, and individuals who have achieved lasting excellence and success through training and learning. The awards serve to recognize and demonstrate the achievements of businesses, organizations, and individuals across a vast spectrum of activities, which could be based in the workplace or in the community. The common factor among winners of the National Training Awards is that they exemplify significant benefits from exceptionally effective learning and skills development, and show outstanding results gained by putting what they have learned into practice (2007). The purpose of founding and establishing this award-giving body in the United Kingdom is to provide opportunity for colleagues and customers of a specific business, organization, or employee to hear about one’s achievements. As such, the NTA serves to be a mark of excellence, thus, being awarded by the NTA would mean building one’s professional reputation and creating competitive advantage. In this regard, the award-giving body helps a specific business, organization, and employee to benefit training and development, enabling one to benchmark achievements (2007). In this sense, the National Training Awards serves to recognize and benchmark the achievements and exceptional capabilities and skills of businesses, organizations, and employees in terms of employee development and training in the United Kingdom. Through this award-giving body, motivation, improvement, and development would then be achieved by organizations and individual employees in different sectors, thus, serving to encourage other sectors to implement changes and improvements in their systems as well. Organizations being awarded and recognized by the National Training Awards include Nando’s, a chicken restaurant chain, Bristol City Council in partnership with Nelson Training Limited, Prime Care Community Services Limited, Flexible Lamps Ltd, Morrison Utility Services ( 2006), FG Wilson, St. Columb’s College, and many others (2007).
The Role of the NTA in the Current System
It has been emphasized that the usefulness of different organizational practices may vary across businesses and corporations because of differing strategies, organizational characteristics, and external factors. However, the use of sound staffing practices should benefit most organizations, regardless of differing internal or external contingency factors (1997). Such sound staffing practices include the provision of training and other employee development strategies, which would emphasize on the potential of employees to enhance their performance and profitability that would contribute to the overall improvement and development of the entire organization. Based on the aims and purposes of the National Training Awards, it can be perceived that it has a significant and purposive role in the current system in the United Kingdom, most especially in terms of a number of aspects, including the economy, politics, society, and technology, which significantly affect the development and improvement of employees in organizations.
Primarily, the purposes of the National Training Awards influence the different policies in the United Kingdom in terms of employee development. It has been reported that intervention takes place through government policy aimed at influencing organizational training and development activity. Three primary mechanisms for implementing government policy, in relation to employee development can be recognized, namely, the promotion of ‘best practice’ through initiatives, such as the Investors in People or IIP and the National Training Awards or NTA; local rather than national delivery of training through training and enterprise councils or TECs and local enterprise councils or LECs to effectively identify skills needed and deliver against that needs; and the adoption of a competence-based approach to vocational education in order to provide nationally recognized skills’ qualifications and meet the demands of employers (1997). Through such policies of the government, skills and performance development of employees in the public sector would be ensured, thus, helping each organization and employee to become qualified for the Awards. Likewise, exceptional training and employee development strategies are also implemented in the private sector, most especially in prestigious and renowned organizations, in order to help preserve and establish their reputations in the industry. In addition, the exploration of new venues of public-private sector cooperation and the measurement of government income derived from different activities (2005) serve to be enhanced through employee development. In this regard, employee development serves to provide benefits in terms of politics, as both the private and public sector in the United Kingdom become improved, thus, contributing to the cooperation, coordination, and harmony among organizations in both sectors. Second, the NTA also influences employee development in terms of the economy. Employee development, which can be observed as having flexibility in relation to job structures, separating work expertise and individuals from job structures, and addressing organizational, process, and individual levels of performance that can be used strategically, not reactively (2004), presents new approaches to marketing, especially in the emphasis to having more complete statistical information, can contribute to a more precise design of marketing policies, strategies and programs, to ensure a more efficient management of the resources allocated to NTAs (2005). In this regard, the influence of employee development through NTAs is evident in the economy through increasing patterns of global trade and finance, through increasing employment opportunities, through attraction of new industries, and through changing the livelihood and economy of the nation.
Third, the role of the National Training Awards is in line with improvement of the society of the nation. Through employee development, the society values the learning and performance of the workforce. Workforce development programs are generally linked to strengthening the environment of the employee, thus, addressing one’s potential labor and skills gaps. Employee development supports individuals in terms of mastering the academic and social skills needed to promote societal interaction. The greater the quality of those skills, the greater is the potential of the employee in today’s marketplace. Yet, equally as important as these skills are, knowledge about careers is essential for enriching skill development (2006). Through employee development, the society changes its perception, paying particular attention to the skills and performance of the workforce, thus, motivating and encouraging each to become qualified in the NTAs. Lastly, the role of the National Training Awards is to improve and develop the technological environment of employees in any organization. Today, the process of globalization has largely contributed to the advancement and development of science and technology, thus, further improving communication and equipments. The influence of the NTAs includes the use of advanced technologies that further develop the skills and expertise of employees and organizations, resulting to the overall improvement of industries in the United Kingdom. As such, trainings, seminars, and other employee development strategies become much more effective, efficient, and appropriate, thus, helping to improve the performance of each employee in the organization.
Conclusion
From the discussion, it can be perceived that the role of the National Training Awards in the economy, politics, society, and technology involves the improvement of employees, organizations, and businesses, to further enable each to achieve success in their respective industries. Because the NTA practically aims to recognize and award the best performing organizations and employees in the United Kingdom, it serves to contribute to the increase in the motivation and encouragement of employees and organizations to perform better in their respective industries. As such, the National Training Awards provides opportunities for businesses, organizations, and employees to excel and exceed their standards to serve as examples for other organizations and employees in the United Kingdom. Through such awards, each would be compelled to follow changes and rules in relation to the improvement and development of their organization, thus, significantly and largely contributing not only to the advancement of themselves and the organization, but on the entire economy, politics, society, and technology of the United Kingdom as well.
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