Peter Drucker stated, "Our most important education system is in the employee's own organization." It is within this system that training should address the specific skills and knowledge required to be successful in each of the company's job functions. It should also prepare employees for the future challenges the company will face.

In organizations around the globe, billions of dollars are spent each year trying to improve performance. Unfortunately, much of this expenditure cannot be linked to tangible results. Instead of an investment in improving the company's performance, some of the training provided becomes simply an expense that wastes time and capital. A great deal of the training delivered today, in particular, non-technical training such as sales, customer service, planning and problem-solving are often done as events and are not linked to performance improvement or strategy. At best, the impact of these program events is short-lived; at worst, they can be in direct conflict with the strategy.

To ensure the training curriculum's success, the design must include a thorough understanding of each position's objectives. It must take into account all the tasks required and the results expected from their successful completion. It must then tie the training directly to the execution of the company's strategy. When effective the training curriculum addresses the specific skills and knowledge required to improve performance within each job function and it creates a stronger more competitive organization.

A successful curriculum will develop a consistent training system. This will integrate the concepts of orientation, education, career planning, assessment and evaluation. Also, each of the company's training programs can and should be utilized to send a clear message to the entire organization about what is important and what is not.

•     No training is developed or purchased that does not become an integral part of the curriculum.
•     It will identify what individuals need to know to do their job, now and in the future.
•     It will identify what training is, and what training is not, in place.
•     Training modules can be put in sequence so that individuals learn the most important skills first.

•     Evaluation of Training Effectiveness
•     Curriculum Design