For Immediate Release

ASTD Media Contacts: Jennifer Homer

703.683.8123
jhomer@astd.org

Danielle Povar
703.683.9586
dpovar@astd.org

ASTD Survey Results Show that Training Professionals Plan to Stay in the Field
New ASTD Competency Model Provides a Roadmap for Professional Success

(Alexandria, VA) April 30, 2004 – A recent survey of more than 380 training, learning, and performance professionals by the
American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) reveals that 55 percent of respondents indicate the market is
rebounding for learning and performance jobs. And, almost 60 percent of respondents plan to change jobs in the next three
years with 84 percent indicating they will stay in the field. With so much career movement expected, what can practitioners do
to excel and make a difference in their current and future positions?

Increasingly, organizational leaders understand that their real competitive advantage comes from leveraging organizational
knowledge and human capital. To accomplish this work, training, learning, and performance professionals need a new model,
or roadmap for success, to provide an even higher level of value and service to organizations.

This new model is part of the ASTD competency study, “Mapping the Future: Shaping New Workplace Learning and
Performance Competencies.” In the April issue of T+D magazine, authors Patty Davis of Development Dimensions
International (DDI), Jennifer Naughton of ASTD, and Bill Rothwell of Rothwell & Associates, discuss the methodology for the
study, the new competency model, and the various disciplines that are considered part of the profession in “New Roles and
New Competencies for the Profession,” part two of a three-article series in T+D.

At the center of the study is a new ASTD competency model for the workplace learning and performance field that “defines the
profession in the context of its strategic contribution to performance, and tries to balance the financial and business goals of
institutions with the welfare of the people who are doing the work.” Tony Bingham, ASTD President and CEO, states that “a
defined set of competencies is a hallmark of a true profession, and the practice of creating and supporting a competency
model is a key role of a professional association.”

According to the authors, “competencies encompass clusters of skills, knowledge, abilities, and behaviors required for people
to succeed. In this case, it refers to success across jobs in workplace learning and performance.” Using the equation
Foundation + Focus = Successful Execution, the ASTD competency model is a pyramid divided into three layers. The first
layer – foundational competencies – includes “those competencies that are linked to successful performance in the workplace
learning and performance field. [They] are desirable regardless of an individual’s specialization or role.” The foundational
competencies are divided into clusters – Interpersonal, Business/Management, and Personal – and include such items as
building trust, communicating effectively, driving results, thinking strategically, and demonstrating adaptability. These
competencies are general and apply to a number of professional occupations, not just learning and performance.

The second layer of the pyramid includes areas of expertise (AOEs). As the article explains, “AOEs are the specific technical
and professional skills and knowledge areas required for success in the workplace learning and performance field. The AOEs
are specialized areas that build and rely upon the focused application of the foundational competencies.” Results from a
recent ASTD survey about the competency study show that learning and performance professionals often cross over multiple
areas and must apply a broad range of skills in their work.

The areas of expertise in the ASTD competency model are: designing learning, improving human performance, delivering
training, measuring and evaluating, facilitating organizational change, managing the learning function, coaching, managing
organizational knowledge, and career planning and talent management.

The third and final layer of the model includes roles or broad areas of responsibility within workplace learning and performance
that require a select group of competencies and AOEs to perform effectively. As the article explains, “Roles are not the same
as job titles; they are much more fluid depending on the work or project. For the workplace learning and performance
professional, playing different roles is analogous to a hat collection: When the situation calls for it, the practitioner takes off
one hat and wears another.” In the ASTD competency model, the workplace learning and performance roles are defined as
business partner, learning strategist, project manager, and professional specialist.

After reading and studying the 2004 ASTD competency model, one may assume that training, learning, and performance
professionals now have a sense of what it takes to excel and make a difference in the field. But this doesn’t necessarily
answer the question, How? The value of the competencies and the power of the model are realized in the application. More on
this part of the study will be covered in the May issue of T+D magazine.

The complete article, “New Roles and New Competencies for the Profession,” may be found at www.store.astd.org. The final
report, “ASTD 2004 Competency Study: Mapping the Future,” will be available for purchase at the ASTD 2004 International
Conference and Exposition, May 23-27 in Washington, D.C., or in the ASTD online store.

About ASTD
ASTD is a leading association of workplace learning and performance professionals, forming a world-class community of
practice. ASTD's 70,000 members and associates come from more than 100 countries and thousands of organizations -
multinational corporations, medium-sized and small businesses, government, academia, consulting firms, and product and
service suppliers. ASTD marks its beginning in 1944 when the organization held its first annual conference. In recent years,
ASTD has widened the industry's focus to connect learning and performance to measurable results, and is a sought-after
voice on critical public policy issues.

About DDI
Since 1970, Development Dimensions International, a global human resource consulting firm specializing in leadership and
selection, has worked with some of the world's most successful organizations. With more than 1,000 associates in 70 offices
around the world and headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., DDI advises businesses of all sizes—including half of the Fortune
500—on the selection, development and retention of their workforces and helping them realize business success. For more
information, go to www.ddiworld.com/aboutddi.

About Rothwell & Associates

Rothwell & Associates, Inc. is a consulting company that specializes in succession management and competency modeling. It
has served over 35 multinational corporations. Recent works published by Rothwell & Associates, Inc. include a study of
learner competencies and organizational learning climate (The workplace learner, Amacom, 2002) and CEO perceptions of
trainers’ competencies (What CEOs expect from corporate training, Amacom, 2003). William J. Rothwell, President of
Rothwell & Associates, Inc., is also a Professor of Workforce Education and Development at The Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, PA.

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