skill and technical training

CH-9 Copyright 2008 Werner et al 1

Skills and Technical Training

Chapter 9


Learning Objectives – 1

• Identify and describe basic workplace

• competencies

• Explain the need for remedial basic skills training programs

• Explain the role of apprenticeship programs in today’s work environment


Learning Objectives – 2

• Describe a typical technical skills training program

• Describe a typical interpersonal skills training program

• Understand the professional development and education practices common in many organizations


Questions• Is there a literacy problem in the U.S. workplace, and if so, how

severe is it?• What types of training are available to individuals through the

federal government?• What kinds of apprenticeships are available today?• What issues should trainers attend to when providing computer

training?• What makes for an effective training program concerning safety,

quality, or team building?• What role can labor unions play in skills and technical training?• What forms of continuing education and professional development

are available to employees after they have received their basic training?


Jobs Are Needing Greater Knowledge and Skills

• Developments such as technological advances, changing organizational goals, and organizational restructuring, are increasingly dependent on skilled technical and professional employees

• Need for more cognitive skills (e.g., problem-solving and decision-making skills), as well as greater interpersonal skills (e.g., teamwork)


Training and Education

• Basic skills/literacy education focuses on upgrading the reading, writing, and computation skills needed to function in most any job

• Technical training is the process of upgrading a wide range of technical skills

• Interpersonal skills training focuses on an individual’s relationships with others


Skills Gap

• Skills Gap– the difference between the skill requirements

of available jobs and the skills possessed by job applicants

– Resulting from: • Skill level achieved by many high school and

college graduates• The growing number of racial minorities and non-

English-speaking immigrants in the labor market • Increased sophistication of jobs


Basic Skills/Literacy Programs – 1

• Prose Literacy– Skills and strategies needed to understand

and use information from texts

• Document Literacy– Skills and strategies required to locate and

use information contained in non-textual materials that include tables, graphs, charts, indexes, forms, and schedules


Basic Skills/Literacy Programs – 2

• Quantitative Literacy– Knowledge and skills needed to apply the

arithmetical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (either singly or sequentially) in combination with printed materials, as in balancing a checkbook or completing an order form


Designing an In-House Basic Skills/Literacy Program

• At least two common characteristics: – an aptitude test

• An aptitude test is important for assessing the current ability level of each trainee

– small-group and one-on-one instruction• important for supplying feedback to the trainee, as

well as for conducting remedial work in any areas of deficiency


Federal Support for Basic Skills Training

• Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA)– replaced the Comprehensive Employment

and Training Act (CETA)– JPTA replaced by Workforce Investment

Program in 2000

• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act– Requires sixty-days advance notice of a plant

closure


JPTA

• JTPA sponsored on-the-job training programs, as long as the employer agreed to hire the trainees once they complete their training


Problems with JPTA

• Fraud– some employers used JTPA funds to hire

workers whom they would recruit even under normal conditions

• JTPA funds provided training for only a fraction of the eligible displaced and unemployed workers


Workforce Investment Act (WIA)

• Consolidated more than seventy federal education and training programs into block grants to states

• Three major funding streams – Youth – Adults– Displaced workers


Technical Training

• Apprenticeship Training

• Computer Training

• Technical Skills/Knowledge Training

• Safety Training

• Quality Training


Apprenticeship Training

• Initially a way to pass down skilled trades and knowledge – Preservation of Trade and Craft Guilds

• Today, provides trainees with the skills needed to meet continually changing job requirements


Typical Apprenticeship Program

• 2000 hours of OJT– Some as high as 8000 hours

• 144 hours of classroom training– Some as high as 1040 hours

• Regulated at federal and state levels by Offices of Apprenticeship


Problems with Current System

• Learning is based on time requirements rather than competency

• Programs are isolated from other education and training institutions

• Programs are concentrated in traditional blue-collar occupations

• System has not adjusted to requirements for the period after the initial apprenticeship

• Most apprenticeship programs begin after someone has completed high school, that is, they can be considered “adult” apprenticeships


School-to-Work Programs

• Aimed at expanding apprenticeship programs into secondary schools

• Target high school students, particularly those who are not likely to enroll in four-year colleges


Successful STW – 1

• A well-planned and administered apprenticeship program will:– Attract adequate numbers of highly qualified

applicants– Reduce absenteeism– Reduce turnover– Increase productivity– Reduce cost of training

SOURCE: Benefits for Program Sponsors. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration.Accessed July 13, 2007, from http://www.doleta.gov/OA/empbenef.cfm



• A well-planned and administered apprenticeship program will:– Facilitate compliance with federal and state Equal

Employment Opportunity requirements– Ensure availability of related technical instruction– Enhance problem-solving ability of craftworkers– Ensure versatility of craftworkers– Address industry’s need to remain competitive by

investing in the development and continuous upgrade of the skills of its workforce

SOURCE: Benefits for Program Sponsors. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration.Accessed July 13, 2007, from http://www.doleta.gov/OA/empbenef.cfm



• Schools need to– Administer vocational aptitude tests and

provide guidance– Ensure students have advanced skills

needed by apprenticeship programs



• Other organizations need to:– Provide technical support– Help coordinate activities

• Employers need to:– Ensure the work assignments provide

meaningful work experiences and competencies


STW Costs and Benefits

• Benefits– Trained labor pool– Better public image– Potential eligibility for wage subsidies

• Costs– Direct

• Wages and benefits paid to students

– Indirect• HRD time, orienting & training staff, training & supervising

students


Computer Training Programs

• Introductory Training

• Mastering computer basics, including operating system basics– designed to help trainees overcome their fear

of computers – better understand how computers work


Computer Training Programs

• Applications Training– Covers specific software applications

available within an organization– On an as-needed basis


Computer Training Issues – 1

• Self-Efficacy– an individual’s belief that he or she can

successfully perform a given behavior

• Cognitive Playfulness– the spontaneity, imagination, and exploratory

approach that a person brings to task performance and learning


Computer Training Issues – 2

• Training Format– The use of behavior modeling for software

training is more effective in producing computer skills learning and application than either of the more commonly used self-paced and lecture approaches


Technical Skills/Knowledge Training

• Often specific to a job, process, or piece of equipment, but can also be more general


Levels of Technical Skills/Knowledge Training

• Basic: – To prepare entry-level employees to perform

basic functional responsibilities

• Intermediate:– OJT in general procedures, methods, tools

• Advanced:– Machinery/Process specific training


Safety Training

• Mandated in most companies by insurance companies and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)


OSHA’s Functions

• Establish safety standards

• Conduct safety inspections

• Grant safety variances

• Cite violations– Can mandate training– Can levy fines, shut down operations,

prosecute management


Three Common OSHA Metrics

• Lost Work Day Index– Number of workdays missed due to personal injury

per 100 employees, divided by total number of employees × 100

• OSHA Recordable Rate– Number of OSHA Recordables/200,000 hours (the

hours that 100 employees work with forty-hour weeks, and fifty weeks a year)

• Lost Time Rate– Number of Lost Time Accidents/200,000 hours


Dollar Impact of Lost Workdays

• Based on Fortune 500 company

• For ten lost workdays– 10 lost workdays X 2.6 LWDI X $30;000 per

lost workday = $780,000

• If you can improve safety by just 10%, you can save $78,000/year


OSHA Regulations (Expanded)

• Establish written hazard-communications policy • Replace old state posters with OSHA’s posters• Establish procedures for obtaining material safety data

sheets (MSDS) from manufacturers• Create notebooks containing MSDS and make them

accessible to employees• Label hazardous materials and state the effects of such

materials• Provide orientation for new employees and ongoing

training for other employees• Prepare a safety manual


Effective Safety Management

• Top management support and reinforcement of safety standards

• Employee involvement in suggesting safer work procedures and the selection of equipment

• Regular and recurring safety training programs that reinforce safety standards and behaviors, and that uses appropriate learning theories and formats for the target audience

• Effective monitoring systems


Ten Steps Towards and Effective Safety Program – 1

Table 9-3

• Determine the training objective– Determine exactly what you want your employees to

be able to do at the end of training

• Develop a list of competencies– What must each employee be able to do at a given

level of training?

• Create a trainee profile– Determine who will be undergoing training. Consider

their age, gender, education, learning skills, and so on

SOURCE: Ten steps toward an effective safety program (1999). CEE News, 51(5), 10.



Table 9-3

• Determine an outline of the subject matter to be covered – based on the competencies and trainee

profiles

• Expand the outline for completeness and proper sequencing at least once

• Develop training based on the outline• Test the training on experts




Table 9-3

• Test the training on actual trainees – to determine usability,

understandability, and effectiveness.

• Correct the training content

• based on feedback and reviews

• Evaluate your testing to make sure all questions are good



Safety Training and Employees

• Recognizing, avoiding, and preventing unsafe conditions in their job and work areas

• Procedures and rules relating to the use, transport, and storage of dangerous machinery, tools, and substances

• Rules for the use of protective clothing, systems, and devices for hazardous machinery, tools, and chemicals

• Methods of controlling hazards of any type, including the use of a fire extinguisher and other emergency equipment


OSHA and Computer-Based Training (CBT)

• While interactive CBT can be a valuable tool in a training program, its use alone does not meet the intent of most OSHA training requirements

• Employees must be given the opportunity to ask questions, which requires access to a qualified trainer


On-Site Safety Observation (OSO)

• OSOs help a pro-active approach

• Formal, structured approach for conducting a safety needs assessment– Visit, observe and gather critical data in

workplace– Use data as basis for tailored training


Safety

• Hinges upon – improving the safety of the working conditions

in which employees operate – increasing the amount of safe work behaviors

engaged in by employees

• Well-done safety training can be one of the most important elements to ensure that employees have both the skills and the motivation to perform their jobs as safely as possible


Quality Training

• Total Quality Management (TQM)– A set of principles and practices aimed at

continually improving organizational effectiveness and efficiency

• Two Fundamental Skills– Ability to work effectively with others in a team – Collection, analysis, and evaluation of

quantitative data in decision making


Major Areas of ConcernTable 9-4

• Role of management leadership and quality policy• Training• Process management• Employee relations• Product/service design• Supplier quality management• Role of the quality department• Quality data and reporting

SOURCE: Mandal, P., Howell A., & Sohal, A. S. (1998). A systemic approach to quality improvements: The interactions between the technical, human and quality systems. Total Quality Management, 9, 79–99.


Quality

• Product quality– Degree to which products achieve or exceed

production standards

• Service quality– How well the organization responds to the customers’

needs after the product or service is delivered

• Customer quality – Extent to which the organization has met or

surpassed overall customer expectations


Implementing Quality Training

• Quality Awareness– Managers are introduced to

• the concept of quality improvement• how it will change their role


In-Depth Training

• Process Skills – Ways to improve work coordination, solve

problems, and resolve conflicts.

• Quality Skills– Techniques and tools that can be used for

tracking quality improvements


Quality Tools

• Process Flow Analysis

• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams

• Run Charts

• Statistical Process Control (SPC)

• Scattergrams

• Histograms

• Pareto Charts


Quality Tool Use

• Tools are used for:– cause-and-effect analysis– problem solving– monitoring results– recommending courses of action


Statistical Process Control (SPC)

• Most processes demonstrate variations in output

• It is important to determine whether the causes of such variation are normal or abnormal


Training for SPC

• Training employees to be able to discern abnormal variations so that adjustments can be made to the process to improve quality

• Employees must learn to monitor output using control charts so that they can see variations


Quality Management

• Must be comprehensive– Both Quality & Process skills

• Needs – Visionary leadership– Upper management commitment and support for the

transition to TQM – Widespread employee involvement, – Integrated reward and compensation plans for quality

improvements– A performance evaluation process that is aligned with

the nature of a TQM organization


Quality Training and ISO-9000

• International standard for quality• Uniform quality standards for creating a product

or a service• Companies need to certify under ISO-900 to be

competitive in world markets


ISO-900: A 3-Stage Process

• Document writing

• Implementation of a quality system– Where extensive training takes place

• System assessment for effectiveness

• Companywide employee involvement through training is the quickest, most cost-effective way to achieve and maintain certification


Interpersonal Skills Training (IST)

• Soft Skills– communication – customer relations – selling– teamwork

• All can be improved through training


IST Programs

• Most common elements are– team building– listening skills– delegation skills


Increased Need for IST

• Movement by organizations toward team-based approaches to accomplishing work

• High school and college graduates often lack the required communication skills

• Organizations are becoming more multicultural


Sales Training

• New approach to sales– build trust – solve customers’ problems – provide product and service options – admit limitations


Six General Objectives for Sales Training

• Increased sales productivity

• Lower turnover

• Enhanced communication within and between all organizational levels

• Better morale

• Increased self-management of sales teams

• Better customer relations


Customer Relations/Service Training

• Good service keeps customers coming back

• Organizations should continuously monitor customers’ perceptions of their service

• Job skills of customer-service employees most likely need to be enhanced through training


Four Key Elements – 1

• Introduce customer service training organization-wide

• Frontline employees need to be trained in customer relations skills, including interpersonal skills and operational practices

• Service managers need training in how to coach employees and enforce new customer service standards

• Provide incentives for supporting and sustaining the new customer service philosophy, including (but not limited to) recognition systems, compensation, and upgrading


Team Building/Training

• Large number of organizations have employees working in teams

• Team-based structures require that workers be adaptable and able to form and re-form relationships with coworkers quickly and smoothly

• Team training is popular


Team Related Skills

• Task Skills – Those necessary for accomplishing the work

assigned to the group

• Process Skills – Those that primarily have to do with working

together as a team and maintaining the team relationships that are essential for teamwork


When to Form Teams

• A specific goal (or set of goals) needs a multifaceted group of people with complementary talents

• A specific project is best addressed by cross-functional and multi-departmental coworkers who offer different perspectives

• Broad-based perspectives are needed to develop and carry out the vision of growing a department or organization


Increasing Team Effectiveness

Table 9-5Variable Definition

Team Structure The extent to which:

• team members understand and are committed to team goals

• team roles are clearly defined

• group norms are in place

SOURCE: Werner, J. M., & Lester, S. W. (2001). Applying a team effectiveness framework to the performance of student case teams.

Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12(4), 385–402.




Team Spirit The extent to which:

• a team has confidence in its ability to be effective

• team members invest energy on behalf of the team






Social Support

The extent to which:

• team members have positive interactions and provide support for one another






Workload Sharing


• work is equally divided among team members





Table 9-5 Variable Definition

Communication within the group


• team members give and receive information team members manage conflict in a healthy manner




Role of Labor Unions

• Active role in developing and providing training

• Establishing regional or statewide training centers

• Collaboration with schools and employers to meet the training needs of their members

• These efforts are generally referred to as joint training programs


Joint Training Programs

• Four most common training areas– Safety and health– Job skills training– Communication skills– Assistance for displaced workers


Union Implications for HRD

• Training might be linked to contract negotiations

• HRD can better identify needs of union members

• HRD may be able use union channels for advertising courses

• Helps promote other programs to union


Professional Development

• A profession is– an occupation that is based on an abstract

body of knowledge– an occupation in which workers

• apply in their work a body of knowledge and techniques acquired through training and experience

• have a service orientation and distinctive ethics• have a great deal of autonomy and prestige


Professional Associations

• Private group that exists to advance and protect the interests of the profession and to offer services to its members – Certification– Publications– Educational opportunities


Licensure and Certification

• State governments administer licenses

• Professional organizations administer certifications

• For both, criteria typically includes– attainment of a degree– a given level of practical experience– a passing score on an examination

• Both require continuing education


Continuing Education (CE)

• Normally offered by three sources– college and universities– professional associations– the organizations that employ professionals


CE At Colleges and Universities

• At many colleges and universities• Some benefits:

– Able to use the expertise available at colleges– Can sometimes assist the schools in

designing courses that are job-specific– Organizations sometimes can choose

instructors– College credit may be granted, making it

possible for employees to obtain a college degree


CE By Professional Organizations

• Professional organizations provide opportunities for CE by– Sponsoring conferences, meetings, and workshops

• includes speeches by leading experts, discussion of current issues, and presentation of research findings

– Publishing journals, magazines, and newsletters that communicate ideas and practices in the field

– Collaborate in precertification programs


Company Sponsored CE

• Some have developed college-like curricula within their own training centers

• Continuing trend toward developing on-site corporate universities

• Aim is to be both flexible and strategically linked to the goals and mission of the organization


HRD’s Role in CE

• Three distinct roles:– Enabler

• Establishing policies and procedures that foster an effective and equitable distribution of continuing education throughout the organization

– Resource provider• considering program-support options, including tuition

reimbursement, educational leave, paid professional association fees, and compensation of travel expenses to off-site professional development sites

– Monitor • ensuring that the professional development process is

working as planned