[Editor’s Note: Beverley Ireland-Symonds is one of EmployWise.com’s expert authors. She has worked in different fields including the NHS and fashion and spent 16 years working in adult and further education. She currently runs a training and consultancy company, Accelerated Training & Consultancy as well as a coaching practice: Coaching with Confidence. She writes for her blogs Communication Skills and Confidence Coaching. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Beverley has a Master’s degree from Greenwich University.]

If you’re a manager, the thought of being a “trainer” might fill you with dread or indignation. Dread because you worry that you don’t have any training skills, or indignation because you don’t believe it’s your job and that training should be carried out by people who are qualified to do so. Whatever your views, it is a role that managers are increasingly having to fulfil and the most successful managers are the ones that embrace this approach willingly.

In her recent post “Will India finally Close the Skills Gap”, Yu Yu spoke about the lack of basic skills that many graduates have.  This problem is not unique to India.  It’s certainly a problem that business leaders in the UK and elsewhere have also complained about. No one doubts that there are improvements to be made in education but this will take time. It may be the teachers role, but , most teacher training courses focus on subject knowledge and the theory of teaching and learning. I believe there is insufficient focus on teachers identifying the key skills that their learners need, how to build skills effectively with learners, and once learnt how these skills will be transferred from the classroom to the workplace. Organisations may moan about the lack of skills of new recruits but need to understand that to have a skilled workforce, learning is an ongoing process and managers have an important role to play as “trainers”.

So what exactly is meant by the word “trainer” in a management context?  Is the manager going to have to take over the role of a “Training and Development Manager?” No, not at all.  Will they have to hold “training sessions” – yes they might do. If new processes specific to a department are introduced it makes sense for a manager or supervisor to train their team. There are also occasions when managers will also be asked to deliver training to their team which is being rolled out across an organisation. A manager might not like this but in so many companies this is a practical solution to cutting training costs. As well as occasionally delivering specific training sessions a key area for ‘training’ is where managers are aware of the ongoing learning and development needs of their team and ensure they are ‘trained’ with requisite skills to do their jobs successfully.

Are managers expected to be able to ‘train’ and ‘up skill’ their staff automatically?  Yes in many cases they are.  Is this fair or effective?  No of course not.  Being able to ‘train’ effectively and understand the learning and development needs of staff is a skill that needs to be taught. Organisations that invest in this type of training for their managers will see a good return on their investment.

Benefits include:

• Increased productivity and improved performance
• Bigger and better business results
• Improved staff morale
• Increased knowledge and awareness of learning and development

Organisations that expect managers to be 'trainers' without any training, will not only build resentment amongst their managers and staff but are also missing a trick to place themselves ahead of their rivals in a competive market place.