Employee Training and Development Programme at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Kumasi

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of the employee training and development programmes that exist at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana (Kumasi). It also ascertained the modes of conducting employee training programmes and identified the challenges of planning and implementation of the training programme in the company. Descriptive survey method was used for the study. Census was the sampling method used on a population size of 230 employees of the company who were given questionnaire to respond to provide data for the study. The findings indicated that, over 45 percent of the management were due for retirement at 60 years, whereas, close to 75% of the non-management staff were below 45 of age. It was found that the training and development programme of the company was industrial based to suit job requirements of the company rather than relying on external institutional based programmes for individual professional development. It was concluded that, despite the attention given to staff development at the company, the definition of the company’s employee training and development programme is not comprehensive enough to embrace all the characteristics and the two dimensions of staff development programmes which involves Corporate and individual needs. This implies that the mission and primary objectives of profit making organisation and human service organisation are not the same. The researcher recommended that, the need to develop a more comprehensive needs assessment and content seem to be necessary and could be achieved; if individuals are encouraged to make inputs to the needs assessment. The needs assessment and the content could be broadened to embrace both company and personal needs of the employees. It was also recommended that, there is the need to train some of the youth to assume management positions as a majority of the current management would be retiring in five years time