Why not use our plant's own "in-house-on-the-job" training program – for free?

Our basic advice is the same as for all other training methods. If the training program meets your needs, at a price that you find acceptable, then go ahead and use it. The biggest problem with "in-house-on-the-job" training is that it isn't "free" at all. In fact, programs like this invariably have a lot of hidden costs that often go unrecognized.

First, the personnel conducting the training are usually among the most highly skilled in the plant. Unfortunately those high-level skills can't be put to their best use while the most experienced employees are tied up in training their coworkers.

Second, the plant's "in-house" trainers often lack effective teaching skills – which can lead to ineffective training. Training programs such as this often take a long time to complete – and still give unsatisfactory results.

Next, conducting the training program "on-the-job" practically guarantees that getting the job done will often be delayed – in order to take care of training. On the other hand, if the job is given priority, then the training program will suffer.

"On-the-job" training often gives satisfactory results for teaching skills which are highly repetitive. Seeing the concept work for their equipment operators often tempts a company to use the same type of training program for their plant maintenance technicians. The fact is that troubleshooting and problem-solving skills don't fall into that "highly repetitive" category.

Also, the students being trained through "in-house-on-the-job" programs usually aren't available for their full job duties until the program is finally completed. Students who could be trained in a few days in a classroom are often tied up for months in an on-the-job training program.

Yes, "in-house-on-the-job" training programs do work well in some cases. Situations where they work best generally involve large plants - with plenty of experienced personnel – with plenty of spare time in which to conduct the training – and where lost production isn't a big concern. Most plants don't fit that description – but maybe yours does. As we said earlier, if an "in-house-on-the-job" training program meets your needs, at a price that you find acceptable, then go ahead and use it.

Finally, the biggest problem often occurs when the Human Resources department controls the training budget – and decides that an "in-house-on-the-job" program provides "free" training. The plant's maintenance manager, on the other hand, soon recognizes how much the "free" training is actually costing the company. He's forced to deal with the issues we listed above on a day-to-day basis. At his level, the hidden costs of this type of training program quickly become obvious.

Note: If this hasn't completely answered your question, just contact us at:

843-437-1883          - phone

843-225-0512          - fax

ronbeaufort@gmail.com - email

© Copyright - R.H.Beaufort - Charleston, SC – Updated: May 14, 2008