Botswana Confederation of Commerce and Industry, Training Department : report on evaluation of training impact

The evaluation is based on feedback from 171 course participants and 32 companies. BOCCIM has provide a range of business training, covering, inter alia, management, marketing, supervision, personnel management, financial management, planning, and entrepreneurism. The courses have had a significant impact on the majority of participants, with 95% of respondents reporting that they gained knowledge from BOCCIM training and 80% reporting they were able to apply their knowledge to their work. BOCCIM training has also enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the organizations from which trainees came and to which they returned, with 88% of companies reporting increased efficiency and 84% reporting increased effectiveness at work as a result of training. On the other hand, a significant majority of company representatives stated categorically that it was not possible to say whether training courses had any impact on profitability. The study did not find that trainees' gender significantly affected training outcomes; educational level, however, positively affected knowledge gained, knowledge transferred, and post-training effectiveness. Smaller businesses (25 or fewer employees) reported easier knowledge transfer and greater efficiency than did larger (100 or more employees). There was also a positive correlation between business type (manufacturing) and effectiveness. Clearly, where training is reinforced in the workplace there is more impact on knowledge transfer, efficiency, and effectiveness. It appears that where reinforcement occurs, the interest shown by management and co-workers optimizes the impact of training.