- Time & Cost
Rather than going to a training centre, offering guidance at the workplace would be more efficient as the employee would not waste production time or disrupt business activity – they would be working and learning concurrently. The trainee saves time learning specifically for their role at the workplace, rather than wasting time learning skills and information irrelevant to their job. (Buckley and Caple, 1996). There would be “no hotel, training or extra equipment fees, all is provided in-house and in works time” (Business-bureau-UK, 2003).
- Individual Differences & Flexibility
Whilst working alongside an experienced trainer within a specific field, individual problems can be assessed easily as it would be simpler to keep an eye on the trainee’s progress and improvement, assisting them in decisions to delegate responsibility and authority (Glew et al, 2000). Any issues with development would be easy to recognise, solve and make necessary changes, due to a closer trainer-trainee relationship (Tutor2u).
- Social Skills
Working alongside other staff “reinforces work relationships, especially when the supervisors are involved” (Paradigm Training Systems, 2007). This is common to job rotation and enables a more comfortable working environment (Barrett, 2003).
- Environment familiarity & Learning in Context
The trainee is more likely to be relaxed in familiar surroundings, using equipment they normally practice with in their working life. In contrast, learning at a training centre may be patronising with strangers teaching in an artificial environment (Glew et al, 2000 and Tutor2u).
- Disadvantages
- Decreasing Productivity and Cost
Inexperienced trainees may slow down productivity due to imperfect work. If materials are wasted, this would be costly (Barrett, 2003). For example, an experienced worker cannot varnish a table until the trainee has painted it. If the worker varnishes a table painted insufficiently, the table may be wasted.
- Trainers experience and Time
An unspecialised trainer may not have the knowledge to maximise the trainee’s potential and may pass on bad habits (i.e. shortcuts and laziness) to the trainee. An organisation may on the other hand hire someone outside the business to do the job. However, this external trainer may not be familiar with the equipment and surroundings at the workplace, so will take time to adjust to the layout and usage of these fixtures (Tutor2u and Business Bureau-UK, 2002).
Although an advantage, time can also be a disadvantage to on-the-job training as an in-house trainer may be under a tight schedule to meet their own deadlines along with educating the trainee. The disorganisation of priorities may encourage rushed explanations, resulting in an under-informed trainee prone to errors.
- Off-the-job Training
Also known as “formal training”, off-the-job training “takes place away from the job location” (Buckley and Caple, 1996). It can take effect at an agency, college or training centre, taught by lectures, workshops, and self-study; and governed internally, by the organisation, or externally, by specialised trainers. Off-the-job training includes methods such as: Simulations – using role play where the trainee can realistically exercise their skills (Barrett, 2003) i.e. when training a pilot, flight simulation equipment can be used to enable the trainee to understand situations safely; Secondment – where the trainee is given time off work to attend a course externally (Blacks Academy); Distance learning or evening classes; Self Study – in the trainees own time; revision courses – where leave is given to take courses before internal exams; and Sandwich Courses – where the trainee can enrol in a college course inclusive in employment.
Each method of off-the-job training has its own benefits and drawbacks. However, the majority share the following:
- Advantages
- Specialists
The knowledge and experience of a specialist trainer who explains points thoroughly would mean they are more likely to be better than a temporary trainer, able to work with large groups of people simultaneously.
- Less Distraction and Pressure
Off-the-job training prevents the trainee from getting distracted by familiar colleagues, and helps them to focus on training rather than producing accurate results. Performing tasks such as practice presentations may also be easier in front of a stranger than in front of a supervisor, as there would be less pressure of having to practice skills perfectly for assessment. It “allows people to get away from work and totally concentrate on the training being given“ (Answers.com).
- Recognised Qualifications
It is very likely the trainee will receive a recognised “qualification or certificate” (Tutor2u) from an external training programme. This would be beneficial as the trainee can include this on their resume, for the future.
- Socialisation
Off-the-job training encourages the individual to meet and mix with different people. This helps to build new contacts, as well as provide an insight to the world outside the organisation. (Barrett, 2003)
- Less Costly Mistakes
Training outside the business may be essential for some organisations, especially if the trainee’s mistakes could slow down the working processes or cost large amounts of money. For example, if the trainee’s job is to cut diamonds, a small mistake could be disastrous (Naylor, 2002).
- Disadvantages
- Artificial Environment
Learning in an external environment would mean that the trainee could become familiar and comfortable with equipment and surroundings that they would not otherwise use. It might be difficult for the trainee to adapt so they would become prone to making errors when returning to the normal working environment (Glew et al, 2000).
- Individual Differences and Relevance
All trainees taking part in the course will have varied levels of skills and knowledge. The group may therefore be “forced to progress at a compromised rate” (Rae, 2000). Although some trainees may be beginners, the course may begin at an intermediate level, resulting in some trainees being lost from the start. Likewise, if the course begins at an easy level, intermediate trainees may become disinterested and ‘switch off’ (Rae, 2000). Demotivation may also occur when parts of the training programme relate directly to some individuals job roles, and not to others, therefore being irrelevant to many trainees (Tutor2u).
- Cost
The cost of sending employees off to a training centre is very likely to exceed the cost of training them ‘in-house’. This includes testing the training for compatibility and successfulness (Naylor, 2002), and “transport, course, examination, materials, and accommodation fees” (Tutor2u).
Some employees may be key workers in the organisation meaning their absence may disturb production, resulting in losses.
Conclusion
4. Conclusion
“Externally run training schemes are normally used by smaller organisations” (Glew et al, 2000: 234), mostly for IT and the development of specialised skills, and on-the-job training schemes are normally used by larger firms, especially for selling, administration and manual work. This is because smaller organisations have less employees, so it is not necessary for them to invest in “training facilities and full-time instructors” (Glew et al, 2000: 234), so all organisations have different needs and purposes so a training method that may be most appropriate for one organisation may not be appropriate for another. It is therefore impossible to choose which method of training is better – on-the-job or off-the-job.
Pros of on-the-job training include: the time and cost effectiveness of it; the flexibility of training at the individuals speed according to their ability; improving social networks; and the comfort of working in a familiar environment. However, an inexperienced trainer within the organisation may have other deadlines to meet apart from training another employee, which may result in false information being taught. A novice trainee may also delay production as they are still at the learning stage, so will not be as efficient as other workers.
Off-the-job training also has its advantages of individuals specialised in training, providing recognised qualifications. Training externally will also help the trainee to build contacts for the future, especially without distraction from known colleagues, and pressure to produce exceptional results from supervisors etc. As equipment is more likely to be artificial, mistakes are less likely to cost as much as they would using the real materials. Similarly to on-the-job training, off-the-job training also has its cons: the trainee would find it difficult to adapt to real life working situations after working in a false atmosphere; individual differences could get in the way of learning at the trainees chosen pace; and it would cost more for the organisation to send an employee off to a course.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Books:
Barrett, Richard (2003) – Vocational Business – Training, Developing and Motivating people. Nelson Thornes
Buckley, Roger and Caple, Jim (1996) – One-to-One Training and Coaching Skills. 2nd Ed, Kogan Page
Glew, Matthew; Watts, Michael; Surridge, Malcolm; and Merrills, Stuart (2000) – Advanced Vocational Business. 2nd Ed, Collins
Naylor, John (2002) – Introduction to Operations Management 2nd Ed, FT Prentice Hall
Rae, Lesley (2000) – Effective Planning in Training and Development, Kogan Page
Torrington, Derek; Hall, Laura; and Taylor, Stephen (2005) – Human Resource Management 6th Ed, FT Prentice Hall
Websites:
U.S department of the Interior (1998) – Human Resources presents…Personnel Manager – On-the-job Training [Online]. Available at <http://www.doi.gov/hrm/pmanager/ed6b.html> [Accessed 11 January 2008]
Tutor2u (No date available) – Training – On the job [Online]. Available at <http://tutor2u.net/business/people/training_onthejob.asp> [Accessed 9 January 2008]
Tutor2u (No date available) – Training – Off the job [Online]. Available at
<http://tutor2u.net/business/people/training_offthejob.asp> [Accessed 9 January 2008]
Tutor2u (No date available) – Motivation in practice – Job Rotation [Online]. Available at <http://tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_financial_jobrotation.asp> [Accessed 9 January 2008
Tutor2u (No date available) – People – Induction Training [Online] Available at <> [Accessed 12 January 2008]
CIPD (No date available) <http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/training/trnmthds/otjtrain.htm> [Accessed 9 January 2008]
Immigrant Toolbox (No date available) – Glossary [Online]. Available at <http://www.immigranttoolbox.ca/index.php?pid=10003> [Accessed 11 January 2008]
Business Bureau-UK (2002) – In House, off-the-job training [Online] Available at <http://www.businessbureau-uk.co.uk/personnel/employee_relations/on_the_job_training.htm> [Accessed 11 January 2008]
Paradigm Training Systems (2007) – Advantages of our System [Online] Available at <http://www.paradigm-training.com/pages/advantag.html> [Accessed 11 January 2008]
Blacks Academy (No date available) – Training and Development [Online] Available at <http://www.blacksacademy.net/ind/XG9hg1anx/1YCpsXJbJl.pdf> [Accessed 12 January 2008]
Answers.com (2007) – Training [Online] Available at<http://www.answers.com/topic/training> [Accessed 12 January 2008]
Marks and comments for assignments A and B
By Shivani Rajani – BABM – K0611276
