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September 23, 2010
The Art and Discipline of Technical Training
Bettina Davis, Portland, Oregon

Intended Audience
Anyone in the workplace learning field will find value in this discussion.

Overview
The Training industry is one that is especially good at segmentation. We have institutionalized specialization and segmentation by Job Title, by Industry, by Function, and by any other delimiter that we have been able to identify because in each instance, “it’s different here.”

The most universal and undisputed segmentation has been between Human Resources (HR) Training, often known as “soft skills”, and Technical Training with its many nuances and characteristics covering a vast, almost indefinable, list of training efforts. These two camps are seldom related to each other within the enterprise and all too often operate completely independently to the detriment of the company they are trying to serve.

There is no definitive answer as to why that happens, but what does matter is that the segmentation results in communication breakdowns, duplication of systems, clumsy use of resources, and gaps in employee effectiveness. These are symptoms of the real impact of segmentation and specialization: impaired execution.

This session will shed some light on the myth that these two worlds must exist separately. In fact, success of the enterprise may hinge on the strategic partnership and collective execution of training in a more holistic way than our traditional approaches have been able to accomplish in the past.

Outcomes

  • Understand the differences between technical training and other types of training (management and leadership, soft skills, etc.)
  • Explore opportunities for solving technical training challenges
  • Understand how to develop a technical training strategy
  • Learn best practices for developing and delivering technical training (from a content rather than ISD perspective)s

Speakers

Bettina Davis
Portland, Oregon

Bettina Davis is an accomplished executive with domestic and international experience directing and overseeing comprehensive human resources, training, and organization development functions and programs across large corporate environments.

Before taking on the role as director of talent acquisition and talent management at Tektronix Corporation in 2007, she spent 10 years in various positions at Intel. In her last role she led employee training, including technical training, for Intel IT worldwide.

Bettina spent 2009 researching the topic of technical training with Wendy L. Combs. They summarized their findings in the book “Demystifying Technical Training: Strategy, Partnership and Execution” which was published by Wiley-Pfeiffer in August 2010. "Don't be misled by the title—this book—while focusing on the often segmented world of domain specific job skills—provides guidance valid for the full spectrum of workforce learning from soft-skills to 'technical' skills." Ruth Clark, principal and president of Clark Training & Consulting and author of e-Learning and the Science of Instruction.

Bettina currently works as a leadership consultant for Danaher Corporation and is based in Portland, Oregon. She has spoken at several industry conferences including the Leadership Summit, International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) and the Society for Technical Communication (STC).

She holds a Diplom (equivalent to a bachelor degree) in Social Work from the Fachhochschule Benediktbeuern, Germany, and an MBA from the University of California, Riverside.

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CPLP Recertification Credit
CPLPs earn one recertification point/credit for each physical hour of continuing education within one’s current role/job or involving a new experience or content. You will need to keep records of the event and prepare any paperwork required by National ASTD. CPLP Website.

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Alignment with National ASTD's
Workplace Learning Profession Competency Model

9 Areas of Expertise
Areas in BOLD will be addressed in this presentation.

1. Designing Learning
2. Improving Human Performance

3. Delivering Training
4. Measuring and Evaluating
5. Facilitating Organizational Change
6. Managing the Learning Function
7. Coaching
8. Managing Organizational Knowledge
9. Career Planning and Talent Management

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Alignment with Chapter Focus Areas
Four Focus Areas
Areas in BOLD will be addressed in this presentation.

Professional Development Graphic   1. Professional Development
Networking Graphic   2. Networking
Business Opportunities Graphic   3. Business Opportunities
Giving Back Graphic   4. Giving Back
     
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