Abstract
The recent recession in Ireland has had dramatic effects across the business world. Organisations have witnessed many changes and have had to adapt to a new environment. The area of training and development is a critical component for many organisations in their overall performance. However in light of economic upheaval the training and development functions within many organisations have suffered.
The aim of this research is to discover how senior managers view the impacts of the recession on training and development in Ireland and to identify problems they have had to face and how they have managed through the recession and beyond.
The research has found that training is regarded as hugely important despite of or in fact of the recession and managers are willing to do what they can to ensure they can keep this function operating. This has led to some innovative and extremely effective training methods.
The research has highlighted the importance of aligning training efforts with organisational strategic objectives. A trend towards an increased use of internal training has emerged. The research also presents a management view of training as a reward during tough financial times and issues of retention and succession are also significant. Author keywords: Training and development, recession, Ireland
