Learning at work - on-the-job language and work skills training

Nation's Business, Feb, 1990 by Joan C. Szabo

Small companies should ask suppliers to provide help with training to assure the effective use of suppliers' equipment, components, and services. "If you are buying software, select the [supplier] that provides the best training for your employees," says Carnevale. If training is necessary, "try to build a training system inside the workplace. Focus the learning on the objectives of the job. If you are going to teach literacy, do it right on the job. That is what works."

Clark agrees that "job-specific or contextual learning" is the most effective approach. "We like to use the words, processes, and procedures that employees use every day on the job as a way to teach reading."

Basic-skills training, however, involves more than just teaching reading, language, and math skills, she adds. "In our approach, we teach employees to think analytically, to solve problems, to draw conclusions, to communicate, and to work in teams because the workplace of the future is going to require that they be adaptable workers. This means that they must think on their own and make decisions on their own."

When selecting instructors for job-related basic workplace training programs, experts say, a company should look for those who are familiar with adult learning and the psychology of learning. In addition, instructors should have experience in working with adults and in teaching basic workplace skills in a job-related context.

Beyond basic-skills instruction, Carnevale recommends instituting a coaching system in which every employee is responsible for passing on a piece of knowledge that is helpful to another employee. "If I am a repair person, I might teach the machine operator about trouble-shooting," he says. This approach increases the knowledge of the entire group.

Small businesses also should take advantage of subsidized training from federal and state governments. For example, the Job Partnership Training Act (JPTA) targets federal funding to employers who provide job training. The workplace initiative program in South Carolina receives the bulk of its funding through JPTA.

Another way to foster training, Carlson says, is for small firms to come together through business organizations such as state and local chambers of commerce to discuss and coordinate their needs. "Perhaps a number of small firms can find a way to share instructors on an affordable basis."

Although it does require extra effort for small businesses to set up training programs, the positive results are numerous.

"Training lets employees know what is expected of them. It lets them know that they are important enough for an employer to invest time and money. And it boosts morale and increases productivity," says Karen Dunn, CEO of Sterling Consulting Group, in Sausalito, Calif. Sterling specializes in service-improvement training.

Business owner Carlson also says that training offers the payoff of good publicity. "Small firms become known in their communities as employers who not only represent potential employment," he explains, but who also "offer training opportunities. The result is that more employees want to work for you."