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Staff training

Understand the importance of staff training and how employers can identify training needs that will benefit their staff and business as a whole.

Staff training is essential for every business. Your employees are one of your most valuable assets. Investing in your staff by developing and expanding their skills is an investment in the future success of your business.

Staff training benefits

Even with a limited budget, developing your workforce through training will deliver several benefits, including:

skills development and diversification
increased staff confidence
improved productivity
an upturn in staff morale
reduced absenteeism
a decrease in staff turnover

This guide will help you understand the benefits of staff training to your employees and your business, how to identify training needs using a training needs analysis, and how to put staff training into practice.

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Advantages of staff training

Find out the many benefits staff training and skills development can bring to your workers and business.

Developing and implementing effective staff training can benefit your employees and your business. By investing in your staff, even on a small training budget, you can drive down costs to your business and help increase sales and profits.

What are the benefits of staff training?

Developing your workforce and improving their skills through training can:

increase productivity
enable skills development and spread the skills mix across your teams and organisation
improve the quality of work
establish a clear standard for trained members of staff
give staff more responsibility and ownership of their job role
reduce faults, waste, or customer complaints with streamlined processes and more competent staff
positively affect staff morale and motivation - see lead and motivate your staff
reduce staff turnover and absenteeism
help your business adapt to change and prepare for growth - see change management and planning business growth
give you a competitive advantage over your business rivals - see increase your market share
offer development opportunities for your employees
help you attract top talent if your business is seen as one that values and invests in their workers - see recruiting staff

Although staff training is often mandatory for new staff members, it is just as important to offer ongoing training opportunities for long-term employees. This helps staff realise that there is an opportunity within your organisation to develop, grow, and progress. Staff training develops the skills and capabilities that individuals need for their job and improves the overall efficiency and performance of a business as a whole.

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How to identify staff training needs

How to identify a gap between employee knowledge and skills and training requirements using the training needs analysis technique.

To identify training that matches the specific needs of your staff and business goals, you can carry out a training needs analysis.

What is a training needs analysis?

Training needs analysis is a method used by businesses to identify training requirements in a cost-efficient way. This process involves evaluating training needs and weighing up training priority areas at all levels within a business. Training needs analysis forms the first step of the training development cycle.

Training development cycle

What are the stages of training needs analysis?

There are three key stages of training needs analysis. These steps involve identifying the direction of the organisation, understanding the skills and knowledge of staff through a task analysis, and analysing the individual needs of each employee. These three stages of training needs analysis are explained in more detail below:

Stage 1: Organisational needs

This step evaluates the overall training needs in the business. This is where you analyse future skills needs due to changes in products, equipment, technology, and teams, or in response to economic or political factors. Upcoming changes in law or industry standards may also influence the training needs of your business.

Practical ways of identifying organisational needs are by reviewing documents and processes, setting up advisory teams, and carrying out a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis - see a SWOT analysis example.

Stage 2: Task analysis

At this level, you compare the job requirements of your business with existing employee skills and knowledge. This will help you identify the potential skills gaps. Here, you establish how often specific tasks are performed, the level of skill and knowledge required to perform these tasks, and where and how these skills are best acquired.

Practical ways of carrying out this analysis are to create assessment centres, tests, or practical observations of employees carrying out key tasks.

Stage 3: Individual needs

At this stage, you examine the training needs of each employee. This information is most often gathered from performance reviews and appraisal systems. You may seek feedback from employees on their recommendations on how to solve problems that may be hampering their day-to-day jobs.

Other practical ways of identifying individual training requirements for your employees are through surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups. Download our SWOT analysis template with specific staff training questions (DOC, 17K)

Support to help your business with training needs analysis

Invest Northern Ireland offers help and advice to local businesses on upskilling their workforce. The give you an insight into the tools and techniques used by learning and development professionals to analyse training needs.

Training needs analysis tutorial videos

The embedded video below is an introduction to a tutorial on training needs analysis. You can .

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Develop a staff training plan

How to put staff training into practice once you have identified priority areas for your employees and your business.

After you have identified the staff training required through training needs analysis, you will want to interpret the results and put your findings into practice.

Understanding the training needs analysis process

To effectively implement and deliver the benefits of your training needs analysis, you should consider the following steps:

1. Link skills requirements to your business goals and strategy

Embed the results of your training needs analysis within the direction of future training and skills development. This will ensure that you are applying your training budget effectively to the areas within your business that need it most.

2. Prioritise training needs

This is when you form the justification for your training budget by identifying how training will meet your business's key performance indicators (KPIs) - see use KPIs to assess business performance. Your initial analysis may have identified the need for staff training in multiple areas, so you will need to prioritise the parts that you will focus on first.

For example, you might consider whether the training can help employees carry out existing tasks more efficiently or to a higher standard, or if it will train staff to take on a new role with increased responsibilities. In short, you need to identify what is most important to your business.

To help identify priority training courses, you can carry out a training course priority weighting exercise. This is where you weigh up the costs and benefits of a number of training courses to identify the most beneficial one for your business. Download our training course priority weighting template (DOC, 13K).

3. Find training solutions

Establish how you will deliver the training, whether in-house or through external trainers. Some options include:

conferences
workshops/seminars
e-learning/webinars
books/journal
coaching or mentoring
job shadowing
secondment

See a list of training methods to fit your business.

You can search our for suitable training courses, workshops, webinars, and other business events.

4. Communicate

It is important to keep your employees informed of the reasons why they may have to complete certain training. Publish your training needs analysis findings and any associated training plans. Invite feedback from your employees on how they found the training they undertook.

5. Evaluate

You should evaluate the training outcomes by demonstrating how the training delivers value for money. Consider naming someone responsible for evaluating training (eg, a dedicated staff or line manager). Analyse the impact of all training on your employees, business, and productivity.

You can use a range of tools to give you qualitative and quantitative evaluation feedback. You should attempt to assess the impact of the training on employees by comparing their skills and abilities before and after training completion. The evidence you gather at this stage should be fed back to management as a demonstration of how the training provides a return on investment for the business.

Most training providers use evaluation methods that fit into the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation for Training (PDF, 302K), where example methods are matched to each level of evaluation.

Support to help your business with training needs analysis

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Training methods to fit your business

A list of training methods that may be helpful to your business and boost the skills of your staff.

An outline of some methods your business could use to help train your staff, including their advantages and disadvantages.

Training method	What it involves	Advantages	Disadvantages
Coaching	By talking through a problem or task with a coach/manager, employees can arrive at a solution or better method of working	Cost-effective if done in-house Specific to your business's needs	Coach or manager needs to be coached initially Can be time-consuming
E-learning	Employees follow courses online	Employees teach themselves at their convenience Low cost	Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business's needs
Evening classes	Training through classes held in the evenings	No disruption to employees during working hours	May disrupt the work-life balance for staff Employees may resent having to attend classes in the evening and may not turn up
Workshops	A group of employees trains together under the supervision of a trainer - typically involves explanation, examples, trying out the skill or method, reviewing what happens, and considering developments and alternatives	Employees practice solving problems	Time-consuming - typically takes at least half a day, if not more May be disruptive to your business if many employees attend at the same time Can be expensive if you send numerous employees to workshops
Study leave	Employees are given paid leave to attend courses and attain a recognised qualification	Both the business and employee benefit Can be a good recruitment incentive Tax relief may be available on the cost, of course,	May be difficult to decide who is eligible
Induction	Formal or informal way of helping a new employee to settle down quickly in the job by introducing them to people, the business, processes, etc	Great way to help a new employee get started and understand key organisational processes Can be formal or informal Low cost Focused on new employees and those starting new roles	May take up a large part of a manager's time if many new people start at the same time
Job shadowing	One employee observes another employee going about their job	Low cost Specific to your business/their role	There isn't a chance for hands-on practical experience to be gained This may give a false perspective of the job role depending on the person being shadowed and when the job shadowing is taking place.
Mentoring	A more senior person typically 91�㽶��ɫ��Ƶs an executive or manager, or director by providing advice, 91�㽶��ɫ��Ƶ, and a forum for discussing problems	Provides personal development Low-cost	Limited to more senior employees For mentoring to be effective, the personalities and experiences of the mentor and employee need to be complementary
Networking / seminars	Employees attend a seminar on a specific topic - this can be in-house, at an industry event, or organised by a training specialist	Useful way of getting a lot of information over to a large audience At industry events and seminars organised by training specialists, employees can talk to their peers as competitors/partners	Employees may be unable to discuss specific problems in front of rivals Retention of information may be low if there is a lot of information to convey to employees
Distance learning	Employees train through courses devised by educational institutions (eg, Open University) but are not required to attend traditional classes	Increasingly web-based Employees can learn at their convenience	Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business's needs
Simulation / role-playing	Typically, employees in a particular department (eg, sales) come together to take on roles to help work through possible scenarios (eg, customer complaint)	Employees learn by doing and are prepared for possible situations at work Specific to your business Can be led by a manager	Artificial situations remove the stress and complexities that may occur in a real-life situation There is always room for error when creating a situation in a training environment

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Find training courses in Northern Ireland

What to consider when choosing a suitable training provider, and where you can find training courses in Northern Ireland.

There are many organisations offering training courses throughout Northern Ireland. There are also free online training resources to help you and your staff develop their skills and make your business more competitive.

Free short-term courses (Skill Up programme)

The Department for the Economy is 91�㽶��ɫ��Ƶing free places on a range of fully accredited courses to help individuals retrain and improve their skills. The courses will be delivered by local universities and Further Education colleges through the Skill Up programme. See Skill Up programme: Retrain and upskill your staff.

Open University courses

The Open University has partnered with Invest Northern Ireland to provide local businesses with online training and learning resources to 91�㽶��ɫ��Ƶ upskilling in industry.

Business learning hub – search for online training.

The Open University has also partnered with the Department for the Economy to offer a range of free training to help you improve your skills and wellbeing.

The Open University offers a wide range of online courses.

Other online courses

helps people of any age and with any disability to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work, and in education.

is a free learning platform for education and skills training. It is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to making it possible for anyone, to study anything, anywhere, at any time, for free online, at any subject level.

is free to register and offers over 500 free courses to build AWS Cloud Skills.

offers a collection of free videos and downloadable worksheets to help adult learners improve their reading, writing and numeracy skills.

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in partnership with CILIP Library Association offers online development materials on leadership and innovation, including transformation, creativity, and innovation, influencing skills and power.

offers several thousand free online courses that have been developed by a number of top universities from across the globe, including in ICT and business.

offers learning and development materials on upskilling programmes for graduates, including short courses, live webinars, business challenges, and questions and answers.

brings together courses and certificates provided online for free by a variety of universities and companies. The main focus is on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with additional material in other areas also available.

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offers over 40 hours worth of training to get the digital skills you need to start your career or grow your business.

offers a wide range of tools and business tutorials to 91�㽶��ɫ��Ƶ improvements in business processes and growth. The also give you an insight into the tools and techniques used by learning and development professionals to analyse training needs.

offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that let learners study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom, offering mathematics, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more.

is a website of free online courses, built by Good Things Foundation to help people develop their digital skills.

offers a range of fully certified provision, including cybersecurity, digital marketing, life coaching, and planning.

offers a range of free short courses, based online or across Northern Ireland, in a wide range of technical and vocational areas.

Business Events Finder

You can also search our for business-related training, workshops, conferences, and webinars from a variety of organisations.

Choosing a training provider: what to consider

When deciding who to select for your training provider, you should consider:

Does the trainer understand your business? Is their experience relevant to your sector?
Is the training at the right level, is it tailored to your business, as opposed to being a generic course?
Do the logistics of the training satisfy you? Is it hosted online or held at an appropriate venue, at the right times and dates that suit your schedule?
Is the trainer or training business linked to any associations that can recommend them?
Could you speak to other clients who have undergone the training?

It is likely that there will be a number of suppliers offering possible courses. You should investigate each one thoroughly to ensure they meet your requirements before going ahead.

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Skill Up programme: Retrain and upskill your staff

Find free training opportunities to help develop the skills of your staff through the fully funded Skill Up programme.

Skill Up offers opportunities for businesses to retrain and upskill their staff by taking advantage of a range of free accredited courses. The training will be delivered by the local further and higher education providers in Northern Ireland.

Opportunities are available from entry to postgraduate levels, focusing on skills identified by industry, linked to priority economic areas, including:

green skills
software
advanced manufacturing
childcare
health and social care
hospitality
transversal skills

Training courses available for 2024-25

If you are interested in the training courses available from local colleges and universities for the 2024-25 academic year, visit the provider’s website.