ABSTRACT
The post-compulsory sector of education and training has experienced many changes over the last three decades, which have resulted in different demands on the staff involved, together with changes to the function and purposes of staff development. This chapter considers the effects of some of these changes, in particular the effect of increased accountability and control and the introduction of competence-based occupational standards on staff development processes. The term staff development is used as a generic descriptor for policies and actions which relate to the development of employees. Total Quality Management (TQM) is based on a service model that contains a number of key ideas: all employees are suppliers of services to customers, both internal and external; organisations are characterised by a shared vision led at the highest level of management; and systematic strategic and operational management is closely linked to target-setting and measurement of performance.
