Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operate in almost all cities of India and in their own way perform a variety of services to the society. The employees of these organizations are generally nonprofessionals and belong to various socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. To improve the functioning of these NGOs, so that they perform to the optimum levels, employee training becomes an important issue. This study is an attempt to assess the extent of training taking place for the employees of NGOs in Mangalore and also to analyze their training needs. The study discovered that the extent of training of employees in these NGOs is at a primitive stage and they require to be trained mainly in the areas of community participation and involvement, and also in the area of usage of technology.

A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is any nonprofit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized at a local, national or international level (Cousins, 1991). Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, environment or health.

There are various types of NGOs, which can be understood by their orientation and level of operation (Deepak, 2006). NGO types by orientation can be further classified as charitable orientation, service orientation, participatory orientation and empowering orientation. The NGO types by level of operation can be classified as Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), city-wide organizations, national and international NGOs.

Training is the process of acquiring and improving the skills, knowledge and attitude required for job performance; it is an investment an organization makes in its people. Training can be in many forms, and the desired end is generally the same, i.e., improved performance of job-related tasks. Training also helps in optimum utilization and development of the human resources; it brings about change in the organizational climate and helps in boosting the morale of the employee by imbibing motivation.

Organizational Behavior Journal, Non-Governmental Organizations, NGOs, Service Orientation, Community-Based Organizations, Human Resources, Environmental Protection, Training Programs, Performance Management, Financial Management, Fund Raising Techniques, Nonresidential Training Programs, Performance Measurement.