Antecedents of trainee satisfaction with senior management training

Abstract

Trainee satisfaction is critical in ensuring that investment made in training managers’ result in satisfaction of the trainees. It is imperative therefore that training programmes meet trainee expectations. This study examines factors influencing trainee satisfaction with senior management training programmes. It further prioritizes these factors and examines the moderating effect of level of education, age, number of years in service and gender. Principal component analysis and principal regression analysis was used to prioritize factors influencing trainee satisfaction with the senior management course offered at Kenya School of Government based on data provided by 197 (82 males, 115 females) trainees sampled through the single stage cluster sampling technique. The study concluded that the key determinants of trainee satisfaction in priority order are: having knowledgeable facilitators and clear course objective, providing opportunities for trainees to practice learning and ensuring the training environment is suitable. In addition, participatory training delivery methods should be used and adjustments should be made to ensure that the programme duration and pace is appropriate. The study also concludes that education, age and number of years in service has significant moderating influence on trainee satisfaction while gender does not. It is recommended that, for training institutions to ensure trainees are satisfied with the training programmes, efforts should be made to enhance facilitators’ knowledge, improve learning environment and training facilities.