Training for change
| Date | 01 May 1996 |
| Published date | 01 May 1996 |
| Pages | 29-31 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129610112770 |
| Author | Anne Lawes |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Training is an essential ingredient in the
change process in that it helps us move from
one point to another. This may be for any
number of reasons, for example:
• because we do not have all the skills to do
the job we currently hold or because that
job itself is changing;
• because of technological change;
• because of structural changes;
• in order to prepare us for changes to come
in the organization we currently work
for or to give us transferable skills to make
us more employable elsewhere.
This article attempts to identify the major
influences for change that are affecting us in
the library information profession and to
analyse the implications of these changes in
terms of future success.
Downsizing
Over the last decade one of the greatest
changes facing the profession has been that of
downsizing. The expectation was that a grad-
ually improving economy would lead to a
reduction – if not an end – to downsizing.
This is evidently not the case. Downsizing
is proving to be an ongoing systematic activity.
Even the most successful organizations are
concentrating their efforts and resources on
those activities which earn the highest profit
margins or give the greatest competitive
advantage, however that is measured. Other
activities are outsourced, scaled down or
eliminated completely.
There are two key areas here where train-
ing is vital:
• The need for greater efficiency/productivi-
ty in order to cope with increased work-
load. This involves applying technology,
changes in working practices, personal
time management, etc.
• The acquisition by individuals of transfer-
able skills to make them more flexible and
more marketable.
There is a tension here. Employers are reluc-
tant to finance training which is not directly
linked either to the employees’ current jobs or
to the employer’s plans for their immediate
future.
But where job security is removed it is
essential that help be given to the employee to
develop a portfolio of skills attractive to a
wider range of employers.
29
Library Management
Volume 17 · Number 3 · 1996 · pp. 29–31
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0143-5124
Training for change
Anne Lawes
The author
Anne Lawes is Head of Professional Development, TFPL
Ltd, London.
Abstract
Attempts to identify the major influences for change
currently affecting the library information profession and
offers an analysis of their implications for training initia-
tives to meet emerging and future needs. Identifies
downsizing, outsourcing, organizational development,
empowerment, technological advances and the move
towards an end-user emphasis in information services as
change influences with important implications for the role
of information professionals and for emerging priorities in
the training and development of information managers.
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