Why do organisations invest in developing their people, and who really benefits when they do? This course introduces students to human resource development as a field of both theory and practice, examining how learning happens at work, how development needs are identified and addressed, and how interventions are designed, delivered, and evaluated. Students will work with real organisational contexts and evidence-based methods to develop the analytical and practical skills required of a thoughtful HRD practitioner. The course takes seriously both the organisational and the human dimensions of workplace learning, preparing students to navigate the tensions between them with rigour and integrity.

11 x 2 hour workshops

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1. Portfolio; Individual; 3500 words; 100%; ILOs 1-6

Human resource development (HRD) is a specialist discipline within human resource management concerned with how organisations build capability. This course equips future HR professionals to design and evaluate interventions that serve both organisational strategy and good quality working lives, a dual obligation that sits at the heart of the Scottish Fair Work Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, "Decent work and economic growth". Students engage critically with competing theories of adult learning, the political economy of workplace development, and the practical challenges of evidence-based HRD practices across diverse organisational contexts.

The course prepares students to enter the profession with the theoretical grounding and investigative skills to ask better questions about learning and development in organisations: who needs what, why, and to whose benefit. It contributes to CIPD Associate status on graduation and reflects the University of Glasgow graduate attributes of resourcefulness and ethical and social awareness alongside the beginnings of subject specialism in a distinct area of professional practice.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Explain theories of adult learning as they apply to human resource development practices and ongoing debates around the political economy of workplace learning.

2. Conduct an evidence-based training needs analysis across organisations of varying size, sector and resource capacity.

3. Design a human resource development programme and delivery plan to the mutual benefit of organisations and workers.

4. Devise an approach to learning evaluation that anticipates and accounts for imperfect implementation of human resource development programmes.

5. Critique strategic human resource development approaches based on socio-political contexts, organisational constraints, and decent work imperatives.

6. Generate a personal Continuing Professional Development plan based on reflective consideration of emerging professional identity and priorities.