Different types of training methods
Various Methods of Training
The various methods of training may be classified into two broad categories-on-the-job training and off-the-job training.
Popular on-the-job training methods are given below:
(i) Coaching: Under this method, the trainee receives personal guidance and instruction from his superior.
1. On-the-job Training Methods: Under these methods, the employee is trained in the actual job situation and at his work place. The training is provided by the superior or a senior employee. It is based on the principle of learning by doing. On-the-job training is simple and economical. No special place, equipment or instructor is required. The training is practice-oriented and promotes self-learning. There is no problem of adjustment to the actual job after the training. But in the course of training, the employees may cause damage to machinery. Training is disturbed by the job routine. On-the-job training is suitable where a few employees are to be trained in the real job environment and no expert instructor is required. It is also appropriate for jobs which are either difficult to stimulate or can be learned quickly by watching and doing.
The coach or counsellor sets mutually agreed upon goals, suggests how to achieve them and periodically reviews progress. He suggests changes required in behaviour and performance. This method is effective when the superior is well-trained and has sufficient time to provide coaching.
(ii) Under study: Here the trainee works as an assistant to a senior manager. He learns through observation and experience. The trainee is expected eventually, to occupy the job of the senior manager.
The objective is to develop a successor to the retiring manager.
(iii) Job rotation: It involves a systematic transfer of the trainee from one job to another so as to broaden his knowledge and attitudes. It is suitable for new employees who have no experience. But its main limitation is that it prevents specialisation in one type of work.
(iv) Induction training: When a newly appointed employee reports for work, he should be made familiar with the work environment and the fellow employees. This is known as induction or orientation. The new employee can be inducted into the organisation by introducing him to his job, to fellow workers, to superiors and to subordinates and to the organisation as a whole. The new employee should be oriented to the new organisation and its policies, rules and regulations. In fact, induction is a socialising process by which the organisation seeks to make an individual its agent for the achievement of its objectives and the individual seeks to make the organisation an agency for the achievement of his personal goals. In the absence of a formal induction programme, the new employee may form a wrong impression. The purpose of orientation is to ensure that the work group welcomes and accepts the new employee. Orientation makes the new employee feel at home and helps to adjust him into the new environment. It is a fusion process for integrating the new employee with the organisation.
Induction helps to reduce start up costs that invariably occur when an employee is new, to reduce the amount of anxiety and hesitation a new employee experiences, to save time for supervisors and co-workers, to reduce employee turnover, and to develop realistic job expectations and positive attitudes towards the employing firm.
(v) Apprenticeship training: Persons who want to enter skilled trades such as plumbing, ironsmithy, electrician’s job are generally required to undergo apprenticeship training. The training period is prescribed. It may last from two to five years. The trainee is put under the guidance of a master craftsman or skilled master. He learns by observation and practice. A stipend is generally paid during the training period.
(vi) Internship Training: This means a joint programme of training in which business enterprises and educational institutes collaborate. Theory is taught in classrooms and practical training is given on the job in the factory or office. This method enables the trainees to get a good balance between theory and practice.
2. Off-the-job Training Methods: Under these methods, training is given outside the actual work place. Training is provided by experts. The employer or an external agency arranges the training programme. The focus is more on learning than doing. Off-the-job training enables trainees to concentrate better because they are free from job pressure. But it is more expensive and less practical. It is suitable when a large number of employees are to be trained over a long time period.
The various off-the-job methods of training are:
(i) Lectures: An organisation may arrange special courses to be conducted by professional experts. Instructions are provided by series of lectures to the trainees. These lectures are meant for imparting special skills and knowledge about performing particular tasks. Audio-visual aids such as overhead projector, slides and films can be used to supplement lectures. Sometimes computer models are used.
Some organisations like Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India, Reserve Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever Ltd., have their own departments conducting special courses for the benefit of their employees. Alternatively, employees may be deputed to attend special courses conducted by professional institutes.
(ii) Conferences and Seminars : In a conference, people from different parts of the same organisation or different organisations come together to discuss various aspects of a particular subject. In this method, lectures are delivered by experts followed by discussion among the participants and comments by them. Conference as a method of training enables employees to enlarge their outlook as problems are discussed from several angles. In the seminar method, the participants learn through discussion of a paper on a selected subject prepared by the trainee and circulated among the participants in advance.
(iii) Case study: A case is a written account seeking to describe an actual or hypothetical situation. The participants who are generally managers are invited to discuss the case in a classroom and the facts are presented by capable instructor. The participants are expected to join the discussion actively and arrive at conclusions. The trainee’s power of reasoning, analysis and presentation are thus challenged, contributing to the development of analytical thinking and problem solving ability.
(iv) Vestibule Training: In this method, employees learn their jobs on the equipment they will be using. But the training is conducted away from the actual workplace. Actual work environment is created in a special room and expert trainers are employed. This method is suitable for training a large number of persons in handling sophisticated machinery and equipment.
(v) Programmed Instruction : Under this method, information is broken into meaningful units, and these units are arranged properly to form a logical and sequential learning package. The trainee goes through these units by filling the blanks or answering questions.
