What is Training Needs Assessment?

The Training Needs Assessment (TNA) is critical for the training and development of talents and skills development. It is extremely crucial for a Human Resource or Training Manager to acquire these Training Needs Assessment skills in order to carry out the TNA activities.

Designing a training and development program involves a sequence of steps that can be grouped into five phases:

  1. Needs assessment;
  2. Instructional objectives;
  3. Design;
  4. Implementation;
  5. Evaluation and Tracking.

In order to be effective, all training programs must start with a needs assessment. Long before any actual training occurs, the training manager must determine the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why” and “how” of the training by analyzing as much information as possible about the following:

  1. The organization and its goals and objectives;
  2. Jobs and related tasks that need to be learned;
  3. The Skills that are needed to perform the job;
  4. Individuals who are to be trained.