There is growing pressure within companies to ‘prove’ the worth and added value of training. Training budgets are under constant pressure and it is no longer acceptable just to show how much training has been completed on an annual basis – the company must be able to show the value add from training.

In general Irish companies have been lax at evaluating the effectiveness of training and this is an area where the proposed network would like to concentrate. Effective evaluation will lead to better training plans and more effective training delivery and thus enhance training provision which in turn will improve the competitiveness of the companies concerned.

Currently there are barely a handful of Irish companies that have any expertise in this field. The Skillnets pilot project of 2004 into impact measurement showed the need for many more Irish companies to acquire the ability to conduct effective training evaluation. Those who participated in the pilot were keen to continue with the work while others were really keen to start the work. This led to the formation of the IMS in April 2005.