| Abstract: | This study tried to see the practice of training and development programs and evaluate its contribution to employees’ personal development as well as performance of the Commercial Bank Ethiopia. The researcher has used questionnaire and structured interview discussions for employees and the management the bank to get first information for this research. Since the study is concerned with Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the participants of the study would solely be employees of this Bank. The study focused on the population who are currently working in Commercial Bank of Ethiopia found in Addis Ababa City only. Total sample size would be 150 respondents for the self-administered questionnaires and 30 interviewees for the face to face interview that made with HRD director, HRD experts and HRD officers. The study findings indicate that Pertaining to training and development periodical need assessment practice, many of the respondents disagree on the existence of assessment practice. And a significant number of respondents believe that CBE do not conduct knowledge and skill gap analysis. The CBE training and development program has to be supported by as systematic needs assessment. Because training and development program could be effectively achieved only when it was planned based on the identified training and development needs of the CBE through systematic, continuous and participatory needs assessment. Otherwise, it would be wastage of resources and could not improve the knowledge, skill and attitude of individuals and achieve the desired goals of the organization. Doing this helps the CBE to ensure training is provided to the right people at the right time to increase organization performance or productivity. In addition According to (Monday 1990), there are five steps that should be followed to conduct training program. Namely, need assessment, establish objectives, select appropriate methods and media, implement the actual program, and conduct evaluation and follow up. In CBE, the first four steps are somehow followed as per the interviewee's reply although they are not consistently used per each HRD program. However; CBE is still reluctant on evaluation and follows up of the training and development program. CBE doesn’t evaluate the outcome and impact of the conducted training and development programs. Training and development program evaluation provides feedback that enables the CBE, the trainers and the trainees to determine what was more and less effective in practice in order to assist in determining the value of training activities on subsequent personnel performances. In order to achieve this, the CBE should evaluate the training and development program given to employees during and after the training programs through participatory evaluation process. The evaluation should be made based on the objectives of the planned training and development program. Besides, it has to formulate clear training evaluation criteria in order to effectively measure the results obtained from the training program delivered to employees. |
