It is increasingly recognised by trainers, educators, and organisations investing in education and training, that training outcomes must be measured not only in terms of changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes, but also against long-term sustainable outcomes, such as work practice change.

Measuring change in work practice attributed to education and training programs can be difficult. Education and training programs do not occur in isolation. A wide range of factors influence trainees’ learning, including motivation to learn, attitudes, and existing knowledge. In addition, factors within the work environment, such as team members and supervisors, organisational systems and structures also impact on the uptake of learning and the transfer of training to work practice. There are many individual, organisational and systemic factors that can influence the transfer of AOD-related training to work practice and work practice change. Assessing the role of these factors can provide important information to guide the development of strategies to optimise the contribution of AOD-related education and training to work practice change.

These Guidelines describe the context in which different types of evaluation strategies are undertaken. They provide a framework to determine what factors can be measured in education and training evaluation. They also highlight when, why, and how evaluation of AOD-related training should be undertaken. These Guidelines are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of training evaluation, with particular attention to AOD-related training. They describe training evaluation strategies.

Other materials developed as part of this project include a training evaluation measurement tool called the Work Practice Questionnaire (WPQ), an accompanying handbook and a monograph that discusses the range of factors affecting work practice assessed in the WPQ. This suite of materials has been designed to support both novice and experienced trainers and evaluators to assess the factors that are likely to influence the transfer of AOD-related training and work practice change.

The Evaluation Guidelines are useful for anyone designing and managing education and training evaluations, including educators and trainers, independent evaluators, employers, managers, and program funders. Those more experienced in education and training evaluation may find it a useful tool for reflection on current practices and evaluation outcomes. For those new to training evaluation, these guidelines provide a basic introduction with references for further information.