Assessing the Efficacy of Employee Training Programs: A Perception-Based Study of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) KPK

The paper explores how effective employee training programs at the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) Chitral are through a perception based study premised on the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Evaluation Model. The research evaluates the level of change achieved training interventions on employee knowledge, skills, attitudes and job performance by using both quantitative and qualitative data obtained of 40 selected employees using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that most of the employees report the perception of training programs as positive as 68 percent fully satisfied and 64 percent report the positive changes in job-related skills. Another set of issues determined by the research is high correspondence between organizational goals and training objectives, clear training policy, and positive attitude of the senior management, which helped to achieve apparently successful training activities. Nonetheless, some loopholes were realized in regard to performance measurement, feedback process, and training arrangements. It is also notable that 40 percent of the employees said there was no systematic performance measurement and 48 percent said there was no adequate post-training feedback. The study based on these insights recommends on improvements on the training duration, schedule, the infrastructure and the feedback system. The study comes to the conclusion that although the training programs by AKRSP are effective and well received overall, systematic adjustments in the areas of administration, evaluation, and design will enhance their effect even more, and contribute to building the culture of continuous learning and development.