The IITD (Irish Institute of Training and Development) has announced it is working with FÁS and Skillnets on creating a new fourth level qualification for human resources development and consulting.

The course will be aimed at trainers, instructors, coaches and facilitators working within organisations and as external consultants. Aside from promoting and developing the highest levels of competence among professionals, graduates will also be able to diagnose, measure and plan the impact of training interventions for a large organisation or a network of smaller businesses.

Learners will find their career prospects greatly improved, while employers will benefit from having a specialist on site who can facilitate training/HRD functions that are targeted toward achieving strategic business goals.

According to the IITD, the following groups will benefit from enrolling:

· Those working in industry as internal or external consultants, impacting the bottom line, contributing to strategy and influencing the direction of the organisation
· Individuals who have an existing senior departmental role and want to bring this discipline to their management skills
· Those working in a strategic training/HRD role in larger organisations; middle managers and senior managers in smaller companies
· Those working in a strategic development role in state and semi-state agencies
· Facilitators of benchmarking within the state and semi-state structure
· Skillnets Programme and Network Managers
· FAS Services to Business Personnel and Excellence through People Assessors
· Trade Union representatives working on the development of strategic offerings to its members
· Facilitators of OD
· Lecturers in relevant disciplines
· Graduates from cognate and non-cognate disciplines at NFQ Level 8 or equivalent

The planned fourth level qualification is part of the IITD’s overall aim to promote the highest standards of education among Ireland’s training and development professionals, and follows hot on the heels of the recently established BA in Training & Development, which was created in partnership with the National College of Ireland.