2.3.1 - Training methods, benefits and limits

Settling into a new workplace

A new employee needs to understand the workplace before they can work confidently and effectively.

Induction may cover who supervises the worker, working hours, how to report an absence, where equipment is kept, customer-service expectations and emergency procedures. Its main purpose is to help the employee settle in and understand how to work in this particular organisation. Recruiting someone with experience does not remove this need: the new employer's systems and responsibilities may differ.

In an illustrative small guesthouse in Kenya, a new receptionist learns how to use its booking system and whom to contact when a guest reports a problem. They can then deal with routine arrivals without repeatedly interrupting the owner. Clear introductions also reduce uncertainty about asking for help. A large international manufacturer may use a standard induction programme for basic policies, followed by site-specific instruction about local equipment and evacuation routes.

Induction takes staff time and can overload a new employee with information. A short demonstration followed by supervised practice and a later check is often more useful than a long presentation the employee cannot remember. Induction is an introduction, not proof that the person can perform every technical task safely.

Learning while doing the work

On-the-job training develops skills in the workplace while the employee carries out or practises their normal tasks.

An experienced worker may demonstrate a task, observe the learner and give feedback. Coaching and working alongside a skilled colleague are common methods. The main purpose is to develop practical skills using the business's actual equipment, products and procedures. It can be used for new employees or when experienced staff face a new system.

In an illustrative bicycle repair shop in Chile, a mechanic demonstrates how to adjust the shop's commonly sold brake system, then supervises the trainee's attempt. The learner can apply the skill immediately, and the owner avoids the fees and travel associated with an external course. Some productive work may continue during training. However, both the trainee and trainer may work more slowly, and the trainer's time has an opportunity cost: it could have been used to repair customers' bicycles.

The quality of training depends on the trainer's expertise and ability to explain. Copying a colleague can spread bad habits. Mistakes with real customers or machinery can damage products, service or safety, so practice needs suitable supervision. A business should check competence before allowing independent work, rather than assuming that watching a demonstration is enough.

Learning away from normal duties

Off-the-job training takes place away from the employee's normal work duties so that they can focus on learning.

It may be a college course, an external workshop or a session in the employer's own training room. It does not have to happen outside the business's premises. Its main purpose is to develop knowledge or skills without the interruptions and immediate pressures of the normal job. Specialist trainers can introduce new methods that colleagues do not yet know.