An assessment of industry's training resources and their desired involvement with educational institutions in the southwestern region of the United States

Typescript (photocopy).With an increasing amount of attention focused on productivity in the United States, industry is involved in an effort to provide training for employees. A concern which top management in industry must face is what avenues will most effectively address this issue. As cooperation between industry and postsecondary institutions increases, more information on how educational institutions could have a greater impact on organizational development is needed. The study explores important questions about what training resources are being utilized and which training sources are perceived to be most effective by training managers. The sample population included members of the southwestern region of the professional organization, the American Society of Training and Development, who were training managers. The response rate was 71.6%. The study contains responses from training managers in four general areas: personal information, such as educational level and salary; information on training staff size and functions, including how training budgets are alloted; and to what extent company training managers are willing to utilize various structures provided by educational institutions. Training resources in the area of professional development for 1980, 1983 and 1986 are reported. Findings show the vast majority of dollars being spent for technical training, or training which relate to a specific job-related task. Future projections indicate a continuation of this practice. What structures training managers expect educational institutions to provide are examined. Structures such as seminars, workshops and customized courses are rated as the most preferred by training managers. However, training managers' substantially prefer in-house training over educational institutions as service providers. Relationships among specific variables such as the educational level of training managers and their willingness to use educational institutions is examined. Finally, questions for future research in related areas are raised and recommendations suggested. Investigators are advised against making unqualified assumptions about the importance of and relationships among variables central to this study