1. There is noticeable room for improvement on training services in China in terms of quality and tailored training to address individual needs of a given organization. Buyers are generally not satisfied with the overall quality, the trainers and the training content as well as learning methods. The perceived ROI and the optimal utilization of an employee’s time is deemed as having limited value. The weakest areas are leadership and managerial training, which are in biggest demand and offered by the majority of providers. The majority of suppliers are meeting the gap for leadership and managerial training.
   
   
2. In 2007, buyers spent more on training, however, the share of training in overall expenditures decreased. The market is destined to grow. Respondents expect a further increase in training expenditures and revenues in 2008. 2007 was generally more profitable for providers in comparison to 2006.
   
   
3. The hot topics for 2008 are going to be Leadership/Strategic Management training, as well as middle level managerial training. Buyers are focusing on efforts to increase ROI in Managerial Training. Both buyers and the providers should bare in mind that managers have to see a clear link between training and delivery results which are clearly tied to the key objectives of the company. Buyers need to understand that training is valuable to them and good training can result in better work performance. Poor training can result in catastrophic losses. By providing quality training to employees, the company shows its appreciation of the value of their staff in the organization and recognition of high-potentials as valuable stakeholders. The training provider should work closely with program owner and clearly demonstrate skill acquisition.
   
   
4. Buyers and providers do not necessarily understand each other’s needs. Providers offer training programs that lack sufficient customization, the content does not match the desired learning needs and may be the wrong intervention, and the methods of training are questionable. Often suppliers are not able to partner with holistic solutions. Buyers and providers have different preferred ways to get in contact with each other (providers prefer direct mailing, while buyers latch onto referrals). Both parties vary in regard to trainers and trainees, applied criteria and evaluation.
   
   
5. The vast majority of training buyers declare that the quality is the most important criterion for choosing a training provider.
   
   
6. Training providers are becoming increasingly more focused and specialized in specific training sectors, courses or topics. Training providers that lack a specific focus or area of training specialization will face intense competition from other generic suppliers and not be a preferred choice by those buyers searching for a company’s center of excellence only. Customized, specialized and creative training programs will be more popular, especially among new entry employees. Training providers who only provide standardized, off-theshelf courses will be perceived as dinosaurs – extinct.
   

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