The business environment is getting tougher. Every enterprise needs to do all it can to retain good staff members and develop the talents of existing employees.

The skills shortage is already impacting on most science-based businesses, yet very few facilities have a training plan in place to counteract its effects.

Unfortunately this approach fails to realise the potential of many employees to develop the capabilities needed to meet the future skills requirements of the organisation.

A U.K. survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that without more planning for the future there will be a large gap between the types of skills demanded and those actually available.

About one-third of the organisations surveyed by the CIPD said they expected to need a higher level of skills over the next three years. Just over a quarter said they would require a 'broader range' of capabilities, with management and leadership skills topping the list of future needs.

Most organisations already have most of the ‘good people’ they need - or at least they have people with the ability to have their skills developed to meet the future needs of the business.

We asked people attending our ‘Management Perspectives - Building Better Managers’ courses what their reasons were for attending. Here are some of their answers:

“To gain a better insight into strategies that can make me a better supervisor.”

“To gain an understanding of how to be an 'effective' supervisor. Picking up new tools that could assist me not only with my career but my life as well.”

“For a better understanding of the 'soft' skills required for effective supervision of technical staff.”

“To become educated in processes and methods that I can utilise in my leadership role. Also to provide me with direction in becoming a better Manager.”

These people expected training to boost their supervisory and management skills. Their employers shared this expectation, and both parties hoped to come out ahead from the training investment.

When the Management Perspectives course was completed we asked attendees what they’d gained from the experience. They told us:

“I’m happy that NATA are providing the opportunity to improve business skills specific to science industries.”

“Really helpful; it reinforced my prior knowledge and was focused on more effective implementation of performance management.”

“Situational leadership and decision making models; I enjoyed learning from more experienced managers in groups.”

“A better understanding of myself and methods of motivating staff.”

Today’s people want learning to be an ongoing part of their employment. They want their employers to add value to their own competencies and are willing to put in the overtime to develop themselves for the benefit of their organisations.

To learn more about how NATA training can build the skills of your staff, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it