Around two fifths of businesses say that their line managers are not very effective in supporting learning and development, according to a survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). 

This is despite 74% of respondents saying that their line managers have taken on greater responsibility for learning and development activities during the past two years, and overwhelming agreement that line managers are critical to supporting learning and development.

A lack of training for line managers, competing business pressures and a need to align learning and development objectives with the wider organisational strategy are all reasons cited for this gap between theory and practice.  

Victoria Winkler, CIPD’s learning and development adviser, says: “Learning and development professionals need to make sure key decision makers within the organisation understand the importance of learning and development and the contribution it can make to business. Only when it is successfully integrated into the wider organisational strategy can it add real value.”

The research found that more than 90% of respondents believe that line managers are important or very important in supporting learning and development in their organisations. However, only 12% feel that line managers take learning and development very seriously.

It found that half of UK organisations only train a minority of line managers to support learning and development.

The research discovered hat on the job training and formal training courses are once again identified as the most effective form of learning
It found that 72% of organisations have a training budget with median average spend per employee being £272, compared to £278 in 2006.

Organisations employing less that 250 people spend far more per head on training (£417) than those with more than 10,000 employees (£73).