There are 4 key elements of Human Resource Development and these form the basis of Learning & Development processes too. These are-

• Learning
• Education
• Development
• Training

Although these terms ‘training’ , ‘learning’ , ‘education’ are often used interchangeably, it is useful to be aware of the difference.

Ideally, education involves learning which leads to development and could contain training in specific techniques.

Education is the process which aims at developing the intellectual capital, moral values and conceptual understanding of a person so as to enable him/her to make a contribution to society by understanding its traditions.

Training is a narrower process than education and is more planned& systematic in a way to modify specific skills & competencies by means of events, programmes and instructions so as to attain effective workplace performance. It is an organization’s way to promote learning.

Two ways of distinguishing between the 2 are as follows-

Example 1: A full-time Masters student of HRM has a compulsory outdoor-based  training programme which is part of his/her education even though it is run by trainers

Example 2: A 5-day workshop away from a company’s premises is part of training & not education UNLESS there was a wider product associated with it like a degree, diploma or other professional qualification.

So, implicitly both ‘training’ & ‘education’ are ways of developing human potential.

Learning is a process that enables creation of knowledge and a change of behavior through practice and transformation of experience. It is seen as a major source of attaining competitive advantage by an organization by enhancing individual and collective learning.

Development is the growth of a person’s potential by means of learning, education & training.

The difference between HRM & HRD has been covered in a previous post “HRD Vs HRM”

But to gain insight into Learning & Development Processes, that this section deals,with I would like to further explain the concept of Strategic Human Resource Development.

Strategic HRD is essentially a business led approach that encompasses activities & processes to develop people so that it improves individual, team and organizational performance in accordance with how an organizational would like to attain a competitive edge.
It aims to produce a coherent and comprehensive framework which allows an environment conducive to encourage learning & development of people by means of education, training & self-managed learning.

Strategic HRD takes into account individual aims of employees in the context of tapping the latent potential for maximum productivity to improve bottom line results with appropriate support and guidance from within the organization