WHAT IS A LEARNING NEEDS ASSESSMENT (LNA)?

LNA is a process designed to create understanding of what GN4.3 participants need in terms of knowledge, skills and capabilities to work efficiently and effectively within the project. LNA is a conversation with project WPLs/TLs when GÉANT Learning and Development team (GLAD) builds a holistic picture of the context of work delivered and discusses possible training solutions.

It is important to look into the future through the LNA lens, and think What is it that we need to be able to do in one- or two-year’s time? The speed of change and industry dynamics make it essential for the training to be forward looking to deliver skills in time when they are actually required. 

The outcome of the LNA process is an Annual Learning Plan that is published on https://learning.geant.org/


WHICH ARE THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES PEOPLE CAN ATTEND?

All training activities are open to all GN4.3 project participants on a first-come, first-served basis, following the GN4.3 Approval process. The participation in a course is an entirely voluntary process, we do not ‘send’ people on courses. It is important to remember that learning can be done in many ways, some learning solutions do not need to wait for the LNA to be completed.


WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF WORK PACKAGE AND TASK LEADERS VERSUS THOSE OF GLAD in TRAINING?

As a team leader you have the most detailed picture of your team and their training needs. Most importantly, you have access to the daily work of your activity. GLAD is there to build on this experience and help guide the professional development of your team in the way that is most helpful to you, your activities and objectives. GLAD is also there to ensure that training is not disruptive but rather organic and fits well with what is happening on the shop floor. In addition, GLAD is also able to obtain economies of scale and to organise comprehensive learning solutions when combining the requests from the whole project.  


HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TRAINING IS NEEDED?

It all starts with good communication and good dialogue with your team members. It goes into observations of how the work happens, taking special note of bottlenecks and problems that arise. In the learning world, bottlenecks can be indicative of the lack of knowledge, skill or awareness, and thus creating pathways to the learning opportunities. However, one must remember that not all problems are of the knowledge/skill origin, so not all problems can be resolved through learning.

In assessing the learning needs it is also important to benchmark current level of team knowledge/skill to that of the industry and/or other organisations. Benchmarking is often an indicator of what we might want to start doing or learn how to do better.

Check out the Guiding Questions we put together to help with assessing training needs of your team.


HOW WILL TRAINING REQUESTS BE PRIORITISED?

In course of the LNA process, GLAD collects all input and requirements. This input can be then structured in two groups:

  • Primary needs, those that are outlined in the Technical Annex or those that directly effect project deliverables. These requests will be executed.
  • Associate needs, those needs that will be executed only if they are supported by the GN4.3 project participants and there are available resources.

In case of a great number of competing requests, the following criterial can be applied to further facilitate the prioritisation

  • strategic importance and industry benchmarking. (What are the long-term investments?)
  • viable alternatives. (Are there alternatives such as online courses?, etc)
  • economies of scale, gaining financial benefits through larger numbers. (Can training requests be grouped to obtain the larger scale?)


WHICH LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE?

Many training needs can be met continuously using local resources at a little cost, for example:

  • In-house developed resources (using local experts and solutions available inside the community)
  • Externally available (low cost) resources
  • Freely available: webinars, blogs and knowledge centres

GLAD possesses an extensive library of resources and would be able to advise on possible learning alternatives.