Capability & Governance · Service 02

A Training Needs Analysis that finds the real gap, not just the loudest complaint.

DSAT-compliant Training Needs Analysis that separates genuine training needs from capability, structure and process issues — so investment goes where it actually moves performance.

Experience built in high-stakes environments
Ministry of Defence
Royal Navy
Korn Ferry
NHS & Healthcare
Housing Associations
Public Sector
The problem

Most organisations invest in training without knowing the true gap. Symptoms get treated instead of causes, and without a baseline, nobody can say afterwards whether the investment actually worked — only that a course was delivered.

How I diagnose it

Before recommending anything, I test whether the presenting issue is actually a training need at all: is the knowledge or skill genuinely missing, or is performance being held back by unclear roles, weak governance, or a structure that works against the outcome? Evidence answers this question — assumption doesn't.

My approach

A structured TNA that separates capability problems from training problems using evidence, so investment goes where it moves performance, not just where it's easiest to commission a course.

What you get

Deliverables, and the outcomes they drive.

Deliverables

  • A DSAT-compliant TNA report with a clear evidence base
  • A prioritised set of recommendations, ranked by impact
  • A performance baseline to measure improvement against
  • A defensible rationale for what's training and what isn't

Outcomes

  • Evidence-based recommendations leaders can defend
  • A clear baseline and set of priorities
  • Confidence that spend is targeted at what actually moves performance
Proof, not promises
+17% pass rates

NATO & Royal Navy Training Modernisation

A DSAT-compliant TNA pinpointed the specific points in the training pipeline where learners were being set up to fail — lifting pass rates by 17% and cutting failures by 20%.

FAQs

Common questions about training needs analysis.

A survey asks people what training they want. A TNA tests whether training is the right answer at all — using evidence, not opinion, and stopping at the point where the real issue turns out to be structural.

Yes — the method is sector-agnostic. DSAT compliance is specific to Defence and regulated environments, but the underlying discipline of testing cause before prescribing a solution applies everywhere.

Then that's the finding, and it's the useful one — the alternative is spending on training that was never going to fix the problem. Root causes beat symptoms every time.

Need help with training needs analysis?

A practical, problem-first conversation — no sales pitch. We'll work out what's really going on and whether I can help.

Ready to talk about your capability challenge?