Getting Training At Work

Getting training at work is something which benefits both the company and the employee. There have been numerous surveys carried out which always seem to indicate that employees tend to place far more emphasis on training and career development than they do on salary when it comes to being asked ‘what makes a good employer?’ And, whilst training doesn’t come cheap and represents a significant cost to the company, good employers are prepared to bear the cost for the benefits to themselves in the long-term in that their most valued employees will be even better qualified to do their jobs more productively and it also helps in terms of staff retention and in their loyalty and commitment.

Finding Out About Training

For companies which place training high up on their agenda, you probably won’t need to find out about training opportunities as you’ll be fully informed about that when you start a job or even at interview. Many companies now employ qualified trainers to deliver programs and courses in-house whilst several do that in conjunction with allowing you to learn off the premises, often at their expense. If, however, you’re not aware of any formal training programs in your workplace, you should ask your supervisor or even your employer themselves firstly. There may be mentoring schemes or they may even run external programs which could even lead into higher education. For companies themselves, there are many initiatives which they can get involved with and, in some cases, they may be able to obtain assistance in getting the funding to put these into practice as opposed to bearing the full brunt of the costs themselves.

Train To Gain

Train to Gain is a relatively new initiative which is aimed at businesses and which helps them by offering them free and impartial advice in how they might incorporate certain training programs for their staff into the business in order that they can remain competitive. It assists companies by helping them find suitable training opportunities at a location and a time that suits both the company and the workforce and they can sometimes help companies source funding for this as well as holding regular reviews with companies in order to review progress in terms of how well the workforce is developing as a result of any external training they’ve received.

Investors In People

One of the ways you, as a prospective employee, can determine if a company takes its training commitments seriously is to look out for the ‘Investors In People’ logo on any of their adverts or on their literature. This demonstrates that they are committed to staff development and this will be an ongoing process as they’ll continually be assessing their learning needs within the organisation in order to remain competitive and so employees will also benefit as a result by being given the opportunity to go on the latest, relevant courses.

Training At Work And ‘In House’ Training

It’s important to make the distinction between ‘in house’ training and ‘on the job’ training. ‘On the job’ training does have its advantages in some areas, especially in smaller companies which might not be able to offer the same level of training and support. On the job training at a very basic level simply means that you’re often shown what to do in a particular role by a more experienced member of the team. And, whilst there may be some element of that in larger companies too, proper in-house training will usually consist of a dedicated trainer (perhaps more than one) running workshops and training programs within the workplace or externally but where you’ll come away from your particular job for a set period per week or per month to learn new skills within a group setting. Getting training at work does not necessarily just mean the training is done inside your place of employment by other members of staff either. For example, many companies offer apprenticeships where you’ll attend college or some other external learning institution for part of your working week and the rest of the time doing your job.

If there are no official training programs within your workplace, there’s nothing stopping you asking your employer if they’d help you in supporting any arrangements which you may decide to make for yourself. For example, an employer might be prepared to help pay for a learndirect course or some other form of distance learning course which is relevant to their business and which they feel would be of benefit to you and the company.