CONTRIBUTION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT BHEL TRICHY: A MODERATED MEDIATION MODEL

Training and development (T&D) have become essential strategic functions for enhancing employee capability,operational efficiency, and organizational competitiveness, particularly within India’s public-sectorengineering enterprises. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Trichy, a major power-equipmentmanufacturing unit, relies extensively on a technically proficient workforce to meet demanding production,quality, and safety standards. In this context, the present 2025 study investigates how T&D practices influenceemployee performance through a moderated mediation framework that integrates employee competencies as amediating variable and learning culture as a contextual moderator. Data were collected from 210 employeesacross technical and administrative departments between January and August 2025 using a structuredquestionnaire. A quantitative, causal research design was employed, and the proposed relationships wereexamined using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and PROCESS Macro (Model 7). The findings indicatethat T&D practices exert a significant positive effect on employee performance. Moreover, employeecompetencies partially mediate the relationship, confirming that skill enhancement is a critical mechanismthrough which training translates into improved job outcomes. The study also reveals that learning culturesignificantly moderates the link between employee competencies and performance, strengthening the indirecteffect of T&D on performance. This demonstrates that supportive learning environments amplify theeffectiveness of competency development efforts. The study contributes to both theory and practice by offeringan evidence-based moderated mediation model relevant for large public-sector engineering organizations. Itrecommends reinforcing competency-based learning systems, adopting digital learning tools, and cultivating astrong learning culture to maximize the returns on T&D investments