Strategic Learning and Development Planning Training Course for Executives

Programme Summary

Strategic learning and development planning is the subject of this one-week training course for directors, heads of learning and business function leaders, ending in a strategy-linked learning plan for one function. Training budgets are often set from last year's list of courses rather than from the capabilities the strategy needs. The programme moves from strategic priorities to capability gaps, learning priorities, budget allocation and impact evidence, using cases from banking, manufacturing and public services. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on strategic learning and development planning to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

When learning spend is not tied to strategy, organisations pay for activity that does not close the gaps that matter, and leaders cannot show what the spend achieved. A shared planning method lets senior teams decide where to invest, what to stop and which evidence to expect, so that capability grows where strategic priorities depend on it.

• Capability Readiness: Improves as critical gaps are identified and targeted before strategic initiatives start.
• Learning Spend Focus: Improves as budget follows ranked priorities instead of past habit.
• Decision Evidence: Improves as impact measures are agreed before programmes are commissioned.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 10015: Guidelines for competence management and training frame the cycle of defining needs, designing, delivering and evaluating, applied in Sessions 2 and 3.
• Kirkpatrick Model: Four levels of evaluation structure what is measured from reaction to results, applied in Session 4.
• Phillips ROI Methodology: Isolating effects and converting benefits to money shapes the impact case, applied in Sessions 4 and 5.

Intended Participants

• Directors who must show how learning investment supports the strategic plan.
• Heads of learning and development who set priorities and defend budgets.
• Human resources leaders who connect workforce planning to capability needs.
• Business function heads who sponsor development for their own teams.
• Finance partners who review training budgets and expect evidence of results.

Typical functions include banking, manufacturing, healthcare and public administration.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to translate strategic priorities into the capabilities each function must hold.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose capability gaps using evidence from performance, role and workforce data.
3. Participants will be able to prioritise learning needs by strategic value, urgency and cost.
4. Participants will be able to construct a training budget allocation that can be defended to a finance committee.
5. Participants will be able to design an impact measurement plan that links learning to business indicators.
6. Participants will be able to justify a learning plan to senior sponsors with a clear evidence case.

Programme Structure

Day 1: From Strategy to Capability Requirements

Which capabilities does the strategy depend on?

• Strategic Priority Map
• Critical Role and Skill Inventory
• Capability Requirement Statement
• Stakeholder Expectation Review
• ISO 10015 Needs Cycle Overview

Day 2: Diagnosing Capability Gaps

Where does current capability fall short of what the strategy needs?

• Current Capability Baseline
• Performance Data Review
• Gap Severity Scoring
• Learning and Non-Learning Cause Test
• Capability Gap Register

Day 3: Setting Learning Priorities

Which gaps deserve investment first, and through which learning route?

• Priority Ranking Matrix
• Learning Route Options Table
• Build, Buy or Partner Comparison
• Sequencing and Dependency Plan
• Learning Priority Statement

Day 4: Budgets and Impact Evidence

How is spend allocated and how is its effect shown?

• Training Budget Allocation Model
• Cost per Learner Comparison
• Kirkpatrick Four-Level Measure Set
• Phillips Effect Isolation Worksheet
• Impact Measurement Plan

Day 5: Learning Plan for One Function

Do the earlier records support one defensible plan?

• Applying the Session 1 Capability Requirement Statement
• Testing the Session 2 Capability Gap Register
• Reviewing the Session 3 Learning Priority Statement
• Checking the Session 4 Impact Measurement Plan
• Completing the Strategy-Linked Learning Plan

Methodology

The programme uses a structured exercise method built on a shared case of an organisation entering a new market with a workforce that lacks several critical capabilities. Participants build each artefact on prepared data, then adapt it to a function of their own and test it with peers.

• Suggested activity: Scoring capability gaps from a set of role and performance records.
• Suggested activity: Allocating a fixed training budget across competing priorities and defending the split.
• Suggested activity: Presenting an impact measurement plan to a mock finance committee.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a strategy-linked learning plan for one function. It holds a capability requirement statement, a gap register, a ranked priority list, a budget allocation and an impact measurement plan. The plan is used at work to brief sponsors, agree the training budget and set the evidence that will be reported back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is strategic learning and development planning suitable for leaders outside the learning function?

Yes. Strategic learning and development planning is taught for directors and function heads as well as learning specialists, assuming familiarity with their own strategy and budget but no learning design background.

Which models does strategic learning and development planning rest on?

Strategic learning and development planning rests on ISO 10015 for the needs and evaluation cycle, the Kirkpatrick Model for evaluation levels and the Phillips ROI Methodology for isolating effects and valuing benefits.

How is the plan from strategic learning and development planning used at work?

You use the strategy-linked learning plan to brief sponsors, agree the training budget with finance and set the impact evidence to be reported after each programme.

How does strategic learning and development planning differ from learning design training?

Strategic learning and development planning decides which capabilities to build, in what order and at what cost, while learning design training covers how individual courses are written and delivered.