Best practices for on-the-job apprenticeship training

Written by: Kyle Kaan

Overview:

"Offering new hires a career path with defined training and advancement opportunities is a great way to retain good people. Setting up a structure for self-study, classroom/hands-on and on-the job training is the way to get there. Make sure to have most, if not all of the courses in place and documented before putting the structure together." (Howe)

"Successful on-the-job training requires a commitment to apprenticeship programs, passing of knowledge and skills to apprentices, clear training objectives, a plan and schedule, monitoring and fair and equitable treatment of all employees." (Best Practices)

Relevance:

On the job training is crucial for having good employees that understand what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it. It is critical to train them in the proper ways so that they can be efficient with the tasks presented. Human resources are responsible for the aspects of creating a training program. How to train an apprentice and how to set up a quality training program will be touched upon in this entry.

Key Points:

Before the new employees first day it is important to have everything organized. Meetings should be already set up with people that will be involved in the training process. The employer must show the employee that they are committed to the training because first impressions are everything and the employee must be confident that they made the right decision to join the team.

It is the employers responsibility to develop a basic training plan with a clear set of training objectives. Among the objectives should be a set strategy and a time frame for monitoring the completion and success of the training program. When training employees there will be productivity cost, but training is an investment and sufficient time needs to be allocated towards proper training.

It is important to note at the beginning of the training process that, "like snowflakes, no two employees are the same. Each is motivated by different factors when it comes to work, lifestyles and career aspirations. Find out what gets that employee out of bed in the morning. Discuss their learning preferences, and customize your training and coaching approach as much as possible to those preferences." (Howe)

Ideologies, such as, fostering team work and demonstrating good work ethic will help pave the road for the success of the apprentice. Setting clear expectations and rewarding the employees when they are met, while providing prompt feedback, will help the employer develop positive professional relationships with the employees. It is important to give employees authority and responsibility because motivation breeds productivity within the organization.

During the training process the apprentice should be shown around the job site. The apprentice should be moved around in order to vary exposure to trade skills, the employer should resist the temptation to keep them in one place. They should be explained the nature of the business. They must understand business expectations (i.e. quality control, productivity, and efficiency).

Provide the apprentice with  informal daily observation and feedback, regular formal performance reviews that identify strengths and weaknesses, these will be best achieved by keeping the tone friendly and fostering.

The apprentice will require supervision, but it is important to leave some room for them to learn on their own in order to foster independence.

It would be beneficial to pair them with a mentor that they can seek help from whenever they have a question with something. This will allow them to feel comfortable and will enhance the training program.

The employer should also encourage the apprentice to partake in supplementary training courses/seminars.

Theory:

This relates to the strategic training section of the Human Resource Management textbook. "Training is used strategically to help the organization accomplish its goals. For example, if sales increases are a critical part of the company's strategy, appropriate training would identify what is causing lower sales and target training to respond as part of a solution" (p. 252).

Take Away Points:

Students can use this information when they first come into the workforce, after graduation, to understand how they will be trained on the job. In future years, when they have more experience, they may be the employee that is setting up the training course for new hires. It will be useful to understand the proper way to communicate the correct method to do things within the organization. These different aspects of training can be applied not only for on the job training, but for any type of situation in life where someone needs to learn a new skill.

Works Cited:

Best Practices for On-the-job Apprenticeship Training G2 12.10 (1999): n. pag.Proquest. Canadian Labour Force Development Board, 17 May 1999. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/220763487>.

Howe, Stephen. "The New Hire." Proquest. Cygnus Business Media, June 2008. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/229973236>.