Employees are being encouraged to take responsibility for their own development and careers. Decisions about how to spend training funds increasingly are made by line managers rather than central personnel offices. Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Service became the first agency to issue a formal policy endorsing continuous learning. The policy sets an annual goal of 40 hours of learning experiences for all permanent full-time employees. Nonetheless, most federal agencies are slow in responding to the transformation of workplace learning.
Many managers traditionally view training largely as a tool to prepare employees for new positions.
Training funds are still the first to go when it comes time to cut the budget. The challenge for federal managers is to provide leadership in moving from training to continuous learning. Many short-term learning needs are obvious, such as mastering a new software package or improving a team s conflict resolution skills. But longer-term learning needs require careful analysis, starting with identifying the core capabilities of the organization and then looking at the job roles and competencies needed to maintain and enhance them. These issues should be addressed as part of a strategic workforce planning process.