Pages - Menu

The Process Of Training And Development

By Peter Powell


Acquiring knowledge is a process and not an event. It occurs during our entire lifetime in two main ways: incidentally and intentionally. Incidental learning occurs with very little effort. It is the knowledge that we acquire as we attempt to solve various challenges in our lives. Intentional learning, on the other hand, is due to a deliberate effort. Training and development should take place at personal and institutional level.

It is the responsibility of an institution to ensure that its employees are regularly trained. This will help them improve on their knowledge and skills. The employees should be actively involved by making themselves available for training. They should create personal development goals that are in line with the aspirations of their employers. Collaboration between the employers and the employees is necessary for this process to succeed.

The management should strive to provide the resources and the environment that makes this process possible. Such an environment should include a clear job description on which the training is to be based. The employees should be taught basic competencies needed in the present as well as in the future.

Learning opportunities should be identified in every-day activities. One should attempt to take on new challenges often. Job expanding is one of the ways of doing this. It involves the assignment of newer duties to an employee who has mastered a certain set of skills and requires greater challenge. The same benefit may be achieved through job rotation where employees get a chance to temporarily work in a different department of an organization.

Regular self-assessments will help you determine whether or not you are making progress. The assessment should be focused on evaluating skills, weaknesses, strengths, experience gained and so on. A number of self-assessment tools can be easily obtained from the internet for free or at a small fee. Another option that can be used for this is to conduct comparative studies among employees doing the same tasks.

Participating in committee activities is one of the ways of gaining exposure to different areas. Committees comprise staff from different departments in an organization. They often have different ideas and approaches to solving problems which help in the professional development of individual committee members as well as the prosperity of the entire organization. All employees should be allowed to sit in these committees on a rotational basis.

Learning from a more experienced colleague is one of the most effective ways of getting knowledge and skills. This may be done through coaching or job shadowing. In job shadowing the learner follows the more experienced individual around and observes what they are doing but does not have to help with the work. A coach helps demonstrate skills and impart knowledge that is needed in discharging specific duties within the organization. They give feedback from time to time.

Furthering studies is another way in which employees can improve their level of skills and knowledge. This can be achieved by enrolling for professional development courses offered by colleges or universities or doing it in an informal manner on the internet. This is also referred to as e-learning. A number of the websites belong to professional bodies that play a key role in imparting skills among the members.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment