Are we all perfect? Do we need to update ourselves with the changing environment? Adaptation is a key to succeeding in this changing environment. An external environment - political, economic or technological - is not in our control. Changes in these environments are continuous, and it is important to adapt to these changes to survive in this world.

This applies to everyone, from the employees to business owners. But the question is, how can we adapt quickly to the changes and move ahead? This is where training comes into the picture. Training is teaching a person a particular skill or type of behaviour. An expert trains other people to make them aware of a particular skill in which he has expertise.

We can be trained to perform different functions, but we do not need to be an expert. For example, a finance manager of an organisation is an expert in financial management, but it is also necessary for him/her to understand the latest financial technologies. This can be learnt through training, and for the finance manager to share his expertise, he can facilitate a financial management training.

Training can be achieved through different means. One can learn things from the internet or by taking classes or by attending a conference or seminar. However, each and every source of training involves some cost. Even learning from Google has an internet cost associated with it. Some of us think apart from self-learning, other modes are just a mere out of pocket expense. But it is necessary to understand that the cost involved in training is an individual’s investment in themselves.

For example, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has just directed the commercial banks to implement goAML. This is a change in the economic policy in the external environment. Experts from the NRB are involved in increasing awareness about goAML through trainings and seminars, and as such, banking professionals first involved in the trainings can later conduct meetings within the organisations to train other employees. This not only helps us to adapt to the changes quickly but also reduces the investment in training employees.

The recent compulsory adoption of Nepal Accounting Standard (NAS) for Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) is another example of change. The implementation requires awareness, and training helps to raise it within the target groups. Later, such target groups by sharing their knowledge through training help to spread the awareness further.

Overall, we talk about government generating revenue through taxes and making the economic system transparent, accountable and sustainable, and training is something which is essential to achieve all these things. Therefore, training is an investment rather than just a mere expense