Employee Perceptions of Training and Perceived Firm Benefits in Small and Medium Scale Manufacturing Enterprises in Sri Lanka: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

Every firm must deal with training, and the objective is to increase employee competency so that the organization's human resources are as efficient and effective as possible. The major goals of training are to expand, improve, and enhance employees' abilities, skills, capabilities, and knowledge, resulting in higher productivity. There hasn't been any research done on the perception of training in the small and medium enterprises (SME) in Sri Lanka, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Further research found that no one has looked into the reasons for not arranging training and the relationship between training and company benefits in Sri Lankan SME businesses. Therefore, this study focused on the employee perceptions of training and perceived firm benefits in manufacturing sector of SME in Sri Lanka and the SME owner’s perspective on the importance and benefits of training initiatives. To bridge the gap in the literature, this study proposes a conceptual model based on an extensive review of the literature. Hence, a research framework has been propounded to determine the relationships between identified constructs in a future study. This conceptual model provides information regarding an association between employee perception of training and perceived firm benefits of training. Furthermore, the model can be identified the mediation effect of motivation to learn on the relationship between employee perception of training and perceived firm benefits of training. In addition, the conceptual model will serve as additional literature on the employee perception of training and perceived firm benefits of training in the SME sector in Sri Lanka that has not been explored.