Optimal Allocation Of Training Resources

Abstract

Training is a key task for ensuring that employees remain at a skill level that is conducive to productivity and to achieving the organizational objectives. However, training is a very costly investment. Hence, the resources allocated to training must be used wisely to balance the available resources to the goals sought. In this paper, a typical training decision is considered where the management needs to decide on assigning employees at various levels of the organization to various training programs. This is to be done with minimal interruption of the organization’s operations while making sure that the different types of employees are assigned to training programs most related to their jobs. Additionally, there is a limit on the capacity of the training facility and the number of trainers which in turn limits the number of training courses that can be offered in any given week. A linear programming model is developed to determine the optimal number of trainees that should be chosen from each department and the optimal allocation of these trainees to the various training courses. The model is applied to a real life situation and the results show that there is an optimal allocation that meets and in most cases exceeds the desired objectives of management while maximizing the utilization of the training resources.