These questions always have to be asked because half the time they bank on no one asking them!
We got a really good rise last year but it was essentially to stop the brain drain because we hadn't had rises for quite some time or if we had they had been rubbish. It is so typical of them to now think, oh well that is them sorted, doh!
I have encountered such nonsense so many times. From tiny gatherings to corporate level things and each time they have been a phenomenal waste of time! They never learn but then I kinda think they like justifying the spend on improving the workforce even tho no one wants it!
If it actually improved the workforce and made people somehow more productive, then it would be more understandable. Maybe the company gets some sort of Brownie Points to show on their record that they offered such "training". All the while, those folks that present these programs are laughing all the way to the bank as they congratulate themselves for making all that money for their con job.
They should carry out some measurements and see what impact they have relative to the expenditure. Or then again maybe they don't for precisely that reason! Lol!