Report Points to Four NFP Training Priorities
5 June 2012 at 2:32 pm
Strategy and planning, project management and marketing appear to be training and development priority areas for Australian Not for Profits, according to an analysis carried out by the Origin Foundation.
The Foundation collated and compared requests received for skilled volunteer assistance with areas of study undertaken through the Australian Scholarship Foundation which provides training and development opportunities for the NFP sector, including Origin Foundation funded scholarships.
“The analysis we did is indicative rather than exhaustive,” said Head of the Origin Foundation Sean Barrett.
“However the concordance between the two sets of data is interesting.”
Approximately 60 per cent of requests for skilled help and scholarships are focused on management / strategy and planning, project management and marketing. This far outstrips other subjects such as finance, legal, mentoring and human resources.
These statistics did not take into account governance. ASF provided nearly 400 scholarships last year to directors of NFPs in the area of governance.
“With the new government regulator coming in October (the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission – ACNC) the demand for training around board governance will surely increase,” Barrett said.
Amy Lyden, chief executive of Australian Scholarships Foundation (ASF) said of training and development needs in the sector: “This is a very complex issue because the NFP sector is so incredibly diverse and therefore it is difficult to break down into a basic needs analysis.
“However this data only covers the areas for scholarships that people have put their hand up for, or the ‘know what they don’t know’ area. Many people ‘don’t know what they don’t know’ and uncovering these needs will take more research.
“We are planning to undertake a more detailed and researched needs analysis of the NFP sector later this year which will shed some additional light on this complex area so that we will be better equipped to deliver what is needed to the NFP sector.
“The bottom line is that many NFP organisations simply do not have the funds to train their staff. And many funders will not pay for training (the Origin Foundation is one of the few exceptions),” Lyden said.
|
Area of study |
Origin Foundation |
ASF |
|
Strategy & Planning |
19% |
33% |
|
Project Management |
17% |
21% |
|
Marketing |
17% |
13% |
|
Leadership |
|
17% |
|
Finance |
15% |
5% |
|
Legal |
2% |
1% |
|
Mentoring |
2% |
2% |
|
HR |
6% |
2% |
|
Governance |
|
6% |
|
Other |
13% |
|
Table 1: Skilled volunteering and training and development requests
