Assessing Influences on Perceived Training Transfer: An Investigation of Perceptions of Air Force Logistics Readiness Officer Technical School Graduates

Training transfer, which is the ability to utilize training back on the job, is an important issue for all organizations. Training transfer is also a concern within the Air Force, and specifically within the Logistics Readiness (LR) domain as the new LR career field and Logistics Readiness Officer (LRO) technical school mature. This research specifically investigates how influences/attitudes/beliefs of LRO technical school graduates regarding their training influence their perceptions about the transfer of such training back to the job. This study employs a survey-based methodology and the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for data analysis. The results of the research show that influences such as intrinsic incentives, organizational commitment, pretraining motivation, training reputation, subordinate/supervisor support, task constraints, and transfer enhancing activities have a significant relationship with training transfer. Not only does the research illuminate important influences on training transfer for the LRO, but may also aid in directed efforts to improve and enhance the LRO technical school curriculum and experience. This research has also helped build support for existing theories of the influences on training transfer by expanding into a military context and by providing a unique opportunity to study such theories within a new training program scenario. The original document contains color images.