Change and continuity at industrial and commercial training
Issue 3 represents the first issue of my tenure as an Editor of the Industrial and Commercial Training. While I have worked for many years as an Associate Editor on another journal, it is with excitement, trepidation and anticipation that I assume the position of an Editor of the Industrial and Commercial Training. It is my great pleasure and honour to follow in the footsteps of Bryan Smyth who has done a tremendous job in growing the journal over the last six years. Bryan provided outstanding support to me during the handover process and I am grateful to him for his professionalism and dedication to the journal over such a long period of time. I am also thankful for the warm support and encouragement I have received from the editorial board members and I look forward to working with them in continuing to publish highly valued, authoritative and evidence-based articles that showcase cutting-edge practice in the field of training and development.
As a journal, Industrial and Commercial Training has a long and distinguished history over a 48-year period. In preparing this editorial, I took the opportunity to review some of the articles published in its very first issue in 1969. Such an exercise was an enlightening one as it showed the ambition of the journal to highlight major contemporary issues in training management, organisation development and employee education and training. An article by Phillips examined the participation of Head Postmasters of Bury St Edmunds and York in a training experiment. Interestingly, the article comments on the innovative practice of training counter clerks on-the-job, rather than remotely at dedicated training centres. An article by Leonard Nadler (widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of human resource development) explored the roles being carried out by training officers and their contribution to the firm – a topic that has been widely researched ever since. Finally, an article by Kenneth Roberts looks at the use of 16 mm film projectors for training purposes. He points to the growing number of training films being produced and comments on their ability and power to motivate and stimulate employees, overcoming barriers of time, space and distance.
Reviewing these first contributions to Industrial and Commercial Training has emphasised the importance for Industrial and Commercial Training of publishing high-quality articles that are evidence based and meet the needs of busy training professionals. To this end, it is vital that all contributions go through the double-blind peer review process as this certifies the integrity and relevance of articles published in the journal. It also helps to raise the standards of articles and exposes authors to different perspectives and insights from reviewers and editorial board members.
I wish to end this first editorial with an invitation. Industrial and Commercial Training wants to continue to be an outlet for academics and practitioners to debate and discuss current and important issues relevant to the field of training and development. We welcome your unique viewpoint on a variety of topics and the editorial team dedicates itself to supporting you as an author to convey your thoughts and insights within the pages of the journal. The goal of my tenure as an editor is to create a vibrant community of scholar practitioners who are actively engaged in promoting the advancement of training and development in academic and organisational settings. I look forward to sharing this journey with you. Let us go!
