ABSTRACT
A colleague was reminiscing about the ‘old days’, when as a trainer in a social services department he had more or less determined what training would be provided to the workforce. This was often decided on the basis of a worker contacting him saying they wanted training in a certain area. As the colleague said, if he felt like delivering a course on the subject the training was set up. There was no direction from managers, the approach was one in which the trainer took responsibility for all matters related to training. This ad hoc, reactive approach to meeting training needs has in the last ten years largely been replaced by a far more strategic process for commissioning training. In this chapter we examine how and why a more proactive approach is required in the current culture of social care organisations.
