Skills and Technical Training

Chapter 9

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 1

Learning objectives
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.
Describe a typical technical skills training
program.
Describe a typical interpersonal skills training
program.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 2

Emerging Needs in the

Workplace
Skilled workers
Professional employees
Problem solving
Decision making
Team members
Interpersonal skills

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Three Categories of Skills
Training
Basic skills/literacy education
 Upgrading reading, writing, and arithmetic
Technical training
 Upgrading a wide range of skills
Interpersonal skills training
 Communication and teamwork

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 4

Categories of Skills and Technical

Training
Training Category Subcategories
Basic skills/Literacy Remedial/basic education
Technical Apprenticeship training
Computer training
Technical skills/knowledge training
Safety training
Quality training

Interpersonal Communications/interpersonal training

Customer relations/services training
Sales training
Team building/training

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 5

The Skills Gap

The difference between the skill
requirements of available jobs and the
skills possessed by job applicants
Some people think that the skills gap
is perpetuated by four-year, “liberal
arts” education

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Factors Affecting Skills Gap
Declining skill levels of many high
school and college graduates
Growing number of minority and non-
English speaking immigrant workers
Increased sophistication of jobs

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 7

Basic Skills/Literacy Programs

Prose literacy
 Ability to understand and use information
from texts
Document literacy
 Ability to locate and use information
contained in non-textual materials
Qualitative literacy
 Ability to apply arithmetic operations

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 8

In-House Literacy Programs

If schools don’t do it, companies
must.
Two characteristics are common:
 Aptitude tests
 Small-group or one-on-one tutoring

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Problems with Basic Skills
Training Programs
HRD professionals think the lack of
literacy is a problem that affects many
people.
Management tends to think that lack
of literacy is a problem, but affects
only a few people.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 10

Federal Support for Basic

Skills Training
1983–2000: Job Training and
Partnership Act (JTPA)
 Provided funding to private training
institutes and industry
 Problems included fraud and too focused
on a narrow population
 One of 150 federal programs that cost a lot
of money and produced little

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 11

Federal Support for Basic

Skills Training – 2
2000–present: Workforce Investment
Act
Consolidated more than 70 existing
programs
Gave greater control at the local level
Gave greater accountability to training
providers

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Federal Support for Basic
Skills Training (Malaysia)
Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Act (2001)
The purpose is to ensure employers to
conduct training for their work to upgrade
their skills and abilities
Employer are required to pay a monthly levy
into HRDF
They can apply reimbursement – send
/organizing the approval training.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 13

Federal Support for Basic

Skills Training (Malaysia)/2
The Skills Development Act 2004/The
National Skills Development Act 2006
The purpose is to establish a fund for the
purpose of granting loans to trainee who
attend approves programmes to develop and
upgrade their skills
National Occupational Skills Standards
(NOSS) – develop the curriculum
Trainees who achieve the required
competencies will be awarded a certificate.

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Technical Training Programs

Apprenticeship training
Computer training
Skills/knowledge training
Safety training
Quality training

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Apprenticeship Training
Provide skills to meet continually changing
job requirements
Regulated by the Office of Apprenticeship
Training, Employer and Labor Services
(OATELS), formerly called the Bureau of
Apprenticeship Training (BAT)
Most require:
 2000 hours of OJT
 144 hours of classroom training
 Though there may be a lot more hours…

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 16

Major Concerns
Learning based on time requirements
rather than competency
Programs isolated from other
programs
Concentrated in blue-collar
occupations
Little concern for post-apprenticeship
period

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 17

Computer Training
Introductory
 Focuses on basic tasks
 Overcomes fear of computers
Applications
 Specific software used by company
 Provided “as needed” for position

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Computer Training Issues
Self-Efficacy
 Individual’s belief that he/she can
successfully perform the task
Cognitive Playfulness
 Spontaneity, imagination, and exploratory
approach brought to learning
Training Format

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Technical/Skills Training
Most are specific to job, process, or
equipment
Can be general, such as new policies
and procedures on waste disposal

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Different Levels of Skills

Training
Entry-level
 Basic skills and procedures
Advanced Training
 Update employee skills
 Specific skills improvement
 New equipment/procedure training

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Safety Training
Occupational Safety and Health Act
(OSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
 Establishes safety standards
 Conducts safety inspections
 Grants safety variances as appropriate
 Cites violations

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Safety Program Needs

Top management support and
reinforcement
Employee involvement
Regular and recurrent safety training
Effective safety monitoring

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Safety Training Needs for

Production Workers
Recognizing, avoiding and preventing
unsafe conditions
How to use/handle dangerous
machinery, tools, and substances
Use of protective clothing, systems,
and devices
Controlling hazards of any type

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 Quality Training
Quality – providing the product the
customer needs when s/he needs it, at a
cost the customer thinks is reasonable
Need to provide a continuous quality
improvement program
Employees need to know basic statistics to
implement most quality improvement
programs

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Quality Improvement Concerns

 The Role Of Management Leadership And Quality Policy

 Training

 Process Management

 Employee Relations

 Product/Service Design

 Supplier Quality Management

 The 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.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 26

Total Quality Management

Fundamental Skills:
 Employees must be able to work in teams
 Employees must be able to collect,
analyze, and evaluate quantitative data

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Two Phases for Quality
Training
Quality Awareness – training managers
in concept of quality improvement
In-depth Training:
 Process skills
 Work coordination, problem solving, conflict
resolution
 Quality skills
 Techniques and tools to improve quality

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Needs for Quality Training

Must be comprehensive
 Include both process and quality skills
Needs continual and positive follow-up
Training is not enough! You need
management commitment, employee
involvement, rewards, and integrated
performance evaluation

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Quality Training and ISO 9000

International quality standards
Three phases
 Document writing
 Implementation
 Includes company-wide training
 Systems effectiveness assessment

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Interpersonal Skills Training
Skills needed to work with other
people:
 Communication
 Customer relations
 Selling
 Teamwork

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 31

Most Common Interpersonal

Skills Training
Team building
Listening skills
Delegation skills

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 32

Why Interpersonal Skills

Training is Needed

Increased use of team-based approach

to accomplishing work
Entrants into workforce lack needed
skills
 High school, college and graduate-level
Increasingly multicultural workplace
 Global economy

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Sales Training
Goals:
Increased team productivity
Lower turnover
Enhanced communication within and between
all organizational levels
Better morale
Increased self-management of sales teams
Better customer relations

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 34

Customer Relations/Service
Training
Introduce customer service training
throughout organization
Train frontline personnel in
interpersonal skills and operational
practices
Train service managers in coaching
and enforcing service standards
Provide incentives

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 35

Team Building/Training
Increased use of teams as basic
organizational element
Two sets of team-related skills:
 Task Skills – skills needed for
accomplishing a team’s work objectives
 Process Skills – how to work in a team
and maintain team relationships

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 Four Models of Team Building
Model Emphasis Team-member objective

Goal Setting Setting objectives and Involved in action planning to

developing individual and identify ways to achieve the
team goals goals that have been set

Interpersonal An increase in teamwork skills Develop trust in each other and

Relations (mutual supportiveness, confidence in the team
communication, sharing ideas)

Problem Identification of major Become involved in action planning

Solving problems in the team for the solution of problems, as well
as implementing and evaluating the
solutions

Role Increased communication Achieve better understanding of

Clarification among team members their and others’ respective roles
regarding their respective and duties within the team
roles within the team

SOURCE: Salas, E., Rozell, D., Mullen, B., & Driskell, J. E. (1999). The effect of team building on performance: An integration. Small Group Research, 30, 309–329.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 37

Variables to Increase Team

Effectiveness
Variable Definition
The extent to which:
Team Structure •Team members understand and are committed to team
goals

•Team roles are clearly defined

•Group norms are in place

Team Spirit
•A team has confidence in its ability to be effective

•Team members invest energy on behalf of the team

Social Support •Team members have positive interactions and provide

support for one another

Workload Sharing
•Work is equally divided among team members

Communication within the Group

•Team members give and receive information

•Team members manage conflict in a healthy manner

SOURCE: Werner, J. M., & Lester, S. W. (2001). Applying a team effectiveness framework to the performance of student case teams. HRD Quarterly, 12(4), 385–402.

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 38

Role of Labor Unions in

Training
Joint Training Programs
 Most common are safety and health,
job skills, communication skills, and
displaced worker assistance
Many other programs are job- and
company-specific

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Professional Development and
Education

Earning and maintaining licensure

and certification in a field of work
Periodic need for continuing
education

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 40

Providers of Continuing
Education
Colleges and universities
Professional associations
Company-sponsored continuing
education efforts

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Colleges and Universities

Substantive expertise available
Courses might be tailored to
job/profession
Organizations can choose instructors
College credit may be earned

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Professional Associations
Conferences, workshops, meetings
Journals, magazines, newsletters
Pre-certification and post-certification
workshops

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Company-Sponsored
Continuing Education
Corporate universities
Programs are organization specific
Staff can be in-house, out-of-house and
retirees
Can incorporate latest technology into
training

Werner & DeSimone (2006) 44

HRD’s Roles in Continuing

Education (CE)
Enabler – foster effective distribution
of CE throughout organization
Resource Provider – tuition aid,
compensation for travel expenses,
professional fees
Monitor – assess CE to ensure
professional development process is
working as desired

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Summary
Need for skilled workers is increasing
Entry-level personnel need basic and
literacy training
Global economy and multicultural
issues need to be addressed
Professional growth must be supported
Need to be proactive in the face of
changing technology

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