Training is not only for apprentices

THERE is a perception that training is only for apprentices and the view: “I don’t have any apprentices so I do not need to train”. Allow me to show you why training should be a way of life for all staff of any company and not only something done by big companies.

In this column, I will only discuss training and not education or development. Training is defined as “learning that is provided in order to improve performance on the present job” (Nadler, 1984).

Training can be formal or informal, in other words you can acquire training by attending a programme or by experience

I will give an example of a small organisations training initiatives that are required and we will look at a company with the following staff compliment:

The manager/owner/director/member

The manager/owner/director/member requires the knowledge and trade skills for the business he wants to run. In order to run an electrical company you should have the knowledge and skills for the Electrical trade. Otherwise how would you know if your staff are doing their jobs correctly?

Management skills would be required to run a successful business. You would need to know the requirements or business practice knowledge whether you have a sole proprietor, cc or Pty, for example Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) requirements, tax laws – PAYE, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Skills Development Levy (SDL) and VAT.

To employ staff, you would need some knowledge in human resources, such as how to employ someone, employment contracts, employees’ rights, employers’ rights, minimum leave and sick leave required by law and so forth. In order for your staff to know their limitations/boundaries, you would need to have company policies and procedures in place. Tendering, quoting, project management, communication and selling skills go hand in hand. Your selling skills should enable you to tender and quote on a job more accurately because all you are doing is selling on paper. Putting your selling onto paper – communication and project management identify your description of how you will do the job and manage it as described.

Financial management, purchasing and selling work together. You need to be able to calculate the cost of your jobs, which includes all your expenses such materials, travel and labour, in order to sell at a profit. A skills development facilitator calculates your company’s skills needs, prepares your skill’s work plan annually, and submits this to the relevant SETA.

Your company policies and procedures should outline your disciplinary code for your staff describing the action that would be taken should they contravene the disciplinary code. It will assist you if you have some knowledge of how the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) works and what your rights are.

The receptionist/administration/finance

Your receptionist is the first person a client encounters when they call your company, therefore the receptionist requires telephone etiquette and people skills. Your receptionist may be your administrator as well and will require general office skills such as typing, filing, office management, and minute taking.

Your company’s finance is of paramount importance. Your finance personnel need to ensure your invoices are being generated and sent out, bills, salaries, taxes and PAYE, UIF, SDL and VAT (if you are registered) is being paid. The smooth running of your finance department will ensure that you are aware of the financial health of your company.

The team leader/middle manager/supervisor/artisan

The team leader/middle manager/supervisor/artisan will require technical skills for the trade, continuous skill’s training, and knowledge to ensure compliance, occupational health and safety, communication skills, report writing skills, quoting, quality management skills, coaching skills and industrial relations

General worker/assistant/labourer

The general worker/assistant/labourer will require hand skills, occupational health and safety, power tools skills, communication and technical skills of the trade. Remember, if you trained the general worker/assistant/labourer/s they would possibly use your tools and equipment with a lot more respect and, as a result, they would last longer.

As can be seen, a small organisation requires a large range and variety of skills and knowledge in order to be effective and financially viable. As indicated earlier, all the knowledge and skills can be acquired through training, which would allow the employee to operate effectively in their position and the manager/owner/director/member would have employees operating at optimal performance.

Alternatively, we could just carry on like in the good old days when we allowed our staff to perform at a level where new knowledge and skills required for the position was obtained by trial and error, thereby costing more time and money. This could result in the manager/owner/director/member never knowing where his company’s bench mark is compared to other companies of similar size and business.

Training, on the other hand, would provide all company representatives to perform effectively. It would also allow for development opportunities where employees could contribute the knowledge and skills acquired through training to perform effectively and allow the company to become a competitive industry role player.

Training within an organisation should not be viewed as a luxury but rather as a tool to ensure financial success that will ensure longer term return on investments. Because if a general worker knows how to use tools safely and correctly he should not hurt himself or destroy them as he has an understanding and an appreciation of safety and tools.

Therefore, training allows all employees to perform their current jobs more effectively and, as last month’s column showed, you can claim back some of your training money if you have used a reputable accredited training provider, and communicate with your SETA.

So, do you still think training is only for apprentices?

 

 

 

 

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