Let's have look at another important factor in the ability category. Personal capacity. Personal capacity is the extent to which individuals have the time, energy, and mental space in their work lives to make the changes required to transfer learning to their job. There's often a learning curve whenever we apply something new or adopt a new behavior. It slows us down in our work. It can cause some confusion in us and at times an emotional reaction to change. We may feel skeptical about the value of what we're initiating. We may have many doubts and questions. Most people automatically assume that any change means they'll lose something rather than gain. This is only exacerbated if the learner is over stretched and stressed in their already busy work life. If trainees on return to work are under pressure to catch up on work they missed whilst following the training, they have overloaded schedules, pressing deadlines, they will of course have less energy and opportunity to apply any new learning. The degree of loss of learning is also related to time. If you don't have a consistent pattern and the opportunity to practice what you've learned, then it's very quickly lost. Transfer does not magically happen. To be successful, steps need to be taken to ensure that the trainees have time, energy, and mental space to be able to apply the learning to their work. Schools on the personal capacity factor help us understand the extent to which the individual's workload, the personal energy, and stress levels are facilitating or inhibiting the application of new learning on the job. Personal capacity links very closely to motivation. If people need to put a lot of effort and energy into transferring their learning, then it's likely that they'll give up quite quickly. What are some of the likely reasons for high personal capacity scores, and thus barriers to any transfer? A poorly timed learning program that's scheduled during a period of high workload or stress for the individual. Or follow up to the training that's poorly planned or not planned at all, so there's little opportunity or support to practice or try out new approaches. If a trainee's manager or peers fail to be engaged in supporting the application of new behaviors or skills, and don't adjust workload to allow for slower performance, then transfer would just feel like an additional burden. Applying new skills to work is not easy nor linear. There'll be starts and stops, ups and downs, and trainees need to be prepared for the challenges they'll surely encounter. They need to have a clear and deep understanding and believe that the changes that they're implementing will make their lives easier or better.