Training and Learning – Outcomes, Not Outputs

Abstract

Presents comments on selected findings of the Business Information Resources Survey 2004 in light of the experiences of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), which felt particularly satisfied that it emerged from the survey as the most popular training organization as it spent the first two years of its existence (following its creation from the merger between the Library Association (LA) and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS)) trying to achieve this goal. The survey also confirms one of CILIP’s own findings, that the relevance/appropriateness of a topic is what determines the success of a course rather than the place or the price. It is the appropriateness of the programme that has attracted professionals from the special library sector, at the expense of traditional training sources such as Aslib and TFPL, and caused it to increase its profile significantly over the past two years. Although the BIR survey highlighted the fact that people want skills, not accreditation, many do find it rewarding to receive recognition for their commitment to continuing professional development (CPD) and this is why CILIP plans to introduce a new Framework of Qualifications, in March 2005, to enable more people to gain accreditation for their skills, knowledge and expertise.