Developing Cast Member Skills at Thorpe Park Paper

Thorpe Park’s Training Program
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Thorpe Park’s Training Program
Due to the rapid changes in every sector of the economy, organizations are challenged to develop strategies that will enable them to cope up with these changes. One of the ways that has been proven to align organizations to the changes is by developing a meaningful training program for its members to equip them with strategies and skills that will enable them to effectively compete and succeed in the modern volatile business environment. According to Pfeffer (2000), training can be a source of competitive advantage to those organizations that has knowledge of how they can utilize it. Noe (2010), argues that although training may be expensive to other organizations, effective employee training can be minimized to the benefit of the organization and members as well. In his support for employee training Prahalad (2000) argues that employee training can be considered as part of the organizations’ career development strategies for its employees that include both experiential and analytic sides of development. Defined as a systematic acquisition of concepts, skills, or attitudes that may enable members of the organization to improve their performance, training has become an integral part of an organization’s change and learning, career development and employee evaluation (White & Mackenzie-Davey, 2003). This paper will evaluate Thorpe Park’s training program for new employees.
Thorpe’s Training Program
Thorpe utilizes the induction training program that is mostly conducted when there are new recruits before they resume their assigned responsibilities in their new environment. This method is necessary in training new employees in order to familiarize them with organization’s environment (people, culture, surroundings) and also to introduce them to the organization’s policies and standards. It also provides them all the guidance and help that they need to perform their responsibilities in a comfortable, effective and efficient manner. Thorpe Park employs both permanent and seasonal employee with each category having different terms of contract. There training starts when they meet with their employers but they are being trained by Suzy.
Additionally, after the induction training the organization carries n apprenticeship scheme where its employees are trained within the organization to equip them with new skills that have been driven by the rapid changes in the industry. The scheme absorbed employees who qualified and they included members of the food and beverage areas.
In evaluating training and apprenticeship schemes, Kirkpatrick provided a four-level model in 1967 and modified it by 2004. Also, Galvin (1983) proposed a CIPP model (context, input, process and product) while Phillips (1996) developed a five-level model (reaction and planned action, learning, applied learning on the job, business results and return on investment) that modified Kirkpatrick’s model. Binkerhoff (1987) also developed a six ...