‘Corporate education plays integral role’

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Organizations with a strategic approach to corporate education that invest in the learning and skills development of their employees find their investment increases over time. Delivering the key note speech at the fifth International Research Conference on Management and Finance 2010, Malaysia’s Mangement and Science University Dean Prof Dr. Ali Khatibi said that corporate education can also play an integral role in succession planning, leadership development and building organizational capability and capacity. It will also facilitate innovation programs to generate new products and services and identify new markets and customers.

Dr Khatibi said most organizations have strategic plans outlining their purpose, strategic direction and broad goals. By aligning corporate education with the strategic goals, organizations will be better placed to retain good employees as they are engaged in an overall learning program that has structure and that aligns with the organization’s strategic plans. This provides employees with a sense of direction and a feeling they are valued. He said that during the financial crisis many organizations reduced or slashed their corporate education and training budgets without considering the implications on the organization beyond the financial crisis.

But organizations that maintained a consistent level of investment in employee education and found more effective ways of increasing the impact from their training are more likely to emerge from the crisis with a competitive edge over those who slashed their training budgets.