AC 6.2 Describe different types of learning needs and reasons why they arise for individuals and organisations.

According to Stewart and Rogers (2017), there are different types of learning needs and the reasons they arise for both employees and their organisations. According to Hayden (2021), one of the basic steps of preparing an effective learning and development policy is identifying knowledge and skill set gaps. From the above argument, the first learning need can be identified as upgrading skills due to a significant gap in employees’ knowledge and skills. A learning need may also arise from an organisation’s external and internal factors. For instance, a learning need may arise from the adoption of new technology. Here, employers have no choice but to facilitate but to equip their employees with knowledge and skills to understand new technology.

By the same token, a learning need may arise from new legislation or any other type of government intervention. For instance, the “Health and Safety at Work Act 1974” requires all organisations across the UK to provide their employees with adequate information, training, and instruction as a necessary measure to promote the health and safety of their employees (Viciworks 2019). A learning need may also arise when employers want their employees to clearly see the organisation’s goals. For instance, during the onboarding process, employees are taught about the organisation’s goals in an effort to ensure they understand what the organisation wants of them. Regarding the same, Rogers (2017) argued that developing clarity of vision requires investing in education to ensure employees truly understand what they are chasing.