The Future of HRD: It's Going to Get Tougher

Abstract

Human resource development will become increasingly complex in years to come, not only in terms of techniques, but, more importantly, in how top management perceives the training function and how it is accommodated within the organization. This article highlights significant trends in these organizational dimensions of human resource development, including: the serious attention given to training by senior management and national policy makers; accounting and measurement imperatives placed on training; and structural changes in the sources of training such as the rise of decentralization and the reliance on external providers.