Community Engagement as a Human Resource Development Function

Abstract: Over the years, human resource development (HRD) has transitioned through many change processes and embraced different functions. Thus, from the training of craftsmen, early vocational education, through the early training of skilled labor as a result of the industrial revolution. All this while HRD activities and community engagement processes have been conducted mainly through in-person interactions. However, technological advancement has brought about a revolution in the community engagement process making it imperative for organizations to adopt new ways to conducting activities such as training and development (T&D). Thus, the meaning and methods of community engagement has gradually changed since the publicization of the internet in the early 1990s. Consequentially, other means of engagement, such as the use of social media, and other meeting platforms such as Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, have become eminent in successfully executing organizational activities such as training and development, program delivery, and evaluation among others. This change has been highlighted since the early part of 2020 when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic emerged and caused academic institutions, business organizations, and communities to swiftly adopt the virtual workspace as an alternative to continuously provide the needed services. Considering the potency and the immutability of this emerging trend, it behooves on HRD professionals and practitioners to adopt new ways to ensure their community engagement strategies are yielding the needed results. The IDREAM model presented in this paper is a systematic approach to community engagement process as an HRD function.
Keywords: community engagement, COVID-19 pandemic, human resource development