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Many articles have been written in recent years on trainers' roles. However, much of what has been written was often prescriptive. Besides, the suggestion has often been made that trainers need to operate as change agents within their organisations. Yet, only in very few instances had there been serious attempts to look closely into the prescription of a change agent role and the varying realities which confront trainers within their organisations. Even then such studies have been limited to the developed countries of Western Europe and America.

The human resource development concept is examined in some detail, showing how it differs from ″training″. The structural economic adjustment pattern in ″third world″ countries is examined and some of its implications for the practice of HRD in organisations based in such countries are highlighted. Suggestions are made on the development of a sound approach to HRD by government and HRD practitioners in ″third world″ countries.

A two‐day workshop for trainers in Nigeria, designed to enable trainers to influence managers about training by clarifying the formers' own perceptions, is reviewed. These perceptions were focused on trainers' feelings about the powerful managers and on their understanding of the role of trainers on organisational problems.

Introduction It is generally accepted in principle that the evaluation of training is a worthwhile thing to engage in. Yet, in practice, evaluation is often a neglected aspect of the training cycle in many organisations.

Evaluation is increasingly being regarded as a powerful tool to enhance the effectiveness of training. Three major approaches to training evaluation: quality ascription, quality assessment and quality control are highlighted. In order to enhance the effectiveness of training, evaluation should be integrated with organisational life. To ensure this, a model, “the quality assurance evaluation model”, is proposed. A description of an action‐researchoriented exploration of the model with 43 training co‐ordinators of manufacturing firms in Nigeria is given. Changes in the model, suggested by the research findings, are discussed, and the modified model presented. The need to test the modified model on reallife training programmes is emphasised.