Impact of strategic training and development programmes on performance:The case of voluntary service overseas (VSO) jitolee - East Africa

Abstract

Strategic positioning of training and development directly promotes organizational business goals and objectives. When strategically applied, continuous learning fosters knowledge and skills acquisition to help the organization achieve its goals. Strategic training and development of staff is considered a source of organizations’ competitive advantage as the training impacted on staff results to manifold improvement in organizational performance of the organizations. The purpose or the objective of the study was to identify the impact of strategic training and development programmes on organizational performance. The study focused on Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Jitolee (East Africa), an international development agency that works through skilled volunteers working in overseas in less developed countries. The VSO Jitolee East Africa is one of the VSO International six federation members and mainly recruits volunteers from Kenya and Uganda. VSO Jitolee (East Africa) also receives volunteers from all other VSO’s federation members and at the moment it has about 60 international volunteers working in Kenya. VSO Jitolee works to fulfill the VSO International global mission of poverty eradication through sharing of skills and changing lives The study reviewed relevant literature on past studies related to strategic training and development programmes, organizational performance and the relationship between strategic training and development and performance. Data collection was done using primary and secondary methods. Information from secondary sources was obtained from volunteers’ annual surveys, staff training and development policy and website. Primary data was obtained from interview guide from training and development manager, International Recruitment Manager, International Placement Manager, Human Resources Manager and responses from serving volunteers, returned volunteers, staff and partners. Content analysis of data was done based on analysis of meanings and implications emanated from respondents, information and documentation data using qualitative and quantitative methods.