Evaluation of Training Activities

The Centre's training activities come in different types. They can be linked to a project. They can be tailor-made to the requirements of specific organizations. They can be standard courses developed by the Centre in line with the ILO's mandate and the wider UN mandate. In all of these contexts, the Centre's training is meant to build capacity in individuals and, through them, create a lasting effect on organizations and on society as a whole. It is meant to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the individual participants, and thus their performance once back in their jobs. The systematic evaluation of its training activities is an essential component of the Centre's learning approach.

Participant satisfaction

The end-of-activity questionnaire provides feedback on participants' satisfaction with the content, methods and services of an activity they have just completed. The Centre processes the information to identify trends, strengths and areas for improvement in its programmes and services.

Assessment of learning

The Centre's trainers use a variety of methods to determine the extent to which participants have assimilated new knowledge and mastered new skills as a result of a training activity. The methods we favour are self-assessment, often both before and after a training session, and multiple-choice questionnaires. On longer courses, we administer more formal tests and require participants to write essays or to present the results of their work. Most activities guide their participants to develop action plans to implement when they return to their own organizations. Presenting these action plans at the end of the workshop gives both participants and trainers the opportunity to assess what learning has taken place.

Impact evaluation

Evaluating the effects of training on the participant's own performance, on the performance of the participant's organization, and on the participant's professional sector (i.e. going beyond the assessment of learning) demands a specific approach to specific scenarios. We use follow-up seminars, surveys and interviews to investigate the impact of individual activities, whereas we prefer thematic reviews for more comprehensive evaluation. A "thematic review" evaluates the impact of a set of activities the Centre has run for at least two years on the same subject for the same type of target audience. It covers all the participants in the courses involved. It uses questionnaires, interviews and other tools. The aim is to provide substantial feed-back on: a) the adequacy of the training and any improvements that are desirable for future courses; and b) the extent to which the participants have been able to use the knowledge they acquired during the course in their own institutions, in conducting training or in any other way in civil society.

Project evaluation

Whenever the Centre runs a long-term training project, it carries out evaluations before, during or after each activity.