Identifying Education and Training Needs: A Comparative Case Study of Provider and User Perspectives

We address the issue of identifying education and training needs from two key perspectives: education and training providers and program users. Misalignment between users’ perceived needs and the educational offer may reduce the effectiveness of education and training programs and limit the transfer of acquired knowledge into practice. Our purpose is to examine how different stakeholders identify and define education and training needs and to what extent their expectations and priorities align. We explore similarities and differences in the understanding of competency gaps, learning goals, and expected outcomes of education and training through comparative perspective. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the importance of aligning provider and user perspectives and emphasize the need for more inclusive, responsive, and flexible approaches to the design of education and training programs. We also offer practical insights for improving the quality and relevance of education and training practices in contemporary organizational contexts.