Question

Q5: How can you accurately assess that a learner who has gone through a training course has absorbed the information presented in that course?

Answer 1

Training is one of the most vital functions which must be carried out with utmost care and attention. A lot of time, effort and money is invested in training programs so it is very important to understand whether the learner (who had attended the training program) has absorbed or not whatever information had been presented in the training course. Assessment of training is a time taking process and the accurate results can be obtained only when a detailed process is carried out. This should be carried out over weeks and months of the initial training. Accurate assessment of this can be done in the following ways:

1. Can be carried out with the help of observing the changes in the learner if any and also conducting interviews with them to understand what kind of improvements have actually occured. Questions like: Did they learners put the learning to any use? Does the learner feel that he is being able to apply what was taught in the training sessions.

2. Incorporation of the new skills that were taught so that it can be seen whether the learner has properly learnt the things which were taught.

3. Some tools (like 360-degree feedback) can also be used for assessing how much the learner has been able to grasp in the training provided.

4. Surveys and observations are also significantly important for evaluation of significant changes and also to determine how long the changes are likely to last.

5. Comparing the performances of the employees before and after the training program and assessing the changes in various aspects due to the training program conducted.

Assessment is extremely important since it helps to determine how much the learners have learnt. If the desired results are not obtained, retraining should be considered.