Places please for effective adult learning.

Today we examine one of the foremost organizations for learning professionals - ASTD.

This is the first in a new series listing the various non-profit national training, educational, and speaking organizations that any training and development professional should be familiar with. We start with one of the largest organizations in training, ASTD.

ASTD, formerly the American Society for Training and Development, was first conceived during a training committee meeting of the American Petroleum Institute in 1942. In 1943, a group of 15 met for the first board meeting of the American Society of Training Directors in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The goal of the organization was to raise the standards and prestige of the industrial training profession and to further the professional’s education and development. Since that time, ASTD has grown to a very large size. It is now one of the world’s largest associations dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals.

ASTD’s members come from more than 100 countries and connect locally in more than 130 U.S. chapters and with more than 30 international partners. Members work in thousands of organizations of all sizes, in government, as independent consultants, and suppliers.

ASTD listed its mission as follows. “Through exceptional learning and performance, we create a world that works better.”

The organization also states the main services it offers as follows.

• Providing resources for learning and performance professionals, educators, and students—research, analysis, benchmarking, online information, books, and other publications
• Bringing professionals together in conferences, workshops, and online
• Offering professional development opportunities for learning practitioners, from a Job Bank and Career Center, to certificate programs and the only credential offered in the field: the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP)
• Serving as the voice of the profession to the media and to public policy makers in the U.S., and collaborates with other associations, organizations, and educational institutions to advance the profession
• Recognizing excellence and sets the standard for best practices in learning and performance

ASTD runs an annual conference where over 10,000 training and development professionals from the world over gather to share best practices. The next ASTD International Conference and Exposition will take place May 16-19, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

For more information on ASTD, visit http://www.astd.org/.