Training and Development
New job, new machines, new skills to learn. See how businesses train their people, from a quick word on the job to a full qualification, and why it keeps staff motivated and on the payroll.
Use it, the way the marks are given
Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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Getting better at the job
When someone starts a job, or the work changes, they need to learn. Training builds the skills to do a job well, and development helps a worker grow over time. Get it right and staff are more skilled, more motivated, and more likely to stay.
Ways to learn
Training comes in several forms:
Formal or informal
The same skill can be taught in very different ways.
Match each type
- Formal
- Informal
- Self-learning
- Ongoing
- Planned, structured learning such as a course
- Learning on the job by watching a colleague
- Learning on your own, such as an online course
- Training that continues throughout a career
Why bother training?
Training costs time and money, so why do it? Trained staff work more productively and make fewer mistakes. They also feel more valued, so they are more motivated and more likely to stay. That lower level of staff leaving is called better retention.
Which is formal?
Which of these is an example of FORMAL training?
- A planned first-aid course with a certificate
- Watching a colleague to learn the ropes
- Asking a workmate a quick question
- Reading a manual at home in your own time
What training brings
Select the TWO benefits a business gains from training its staff.
- Staff work more productively and make fewer mistakes
- Staff feel valued, so more of them stay
- Training is always free for the business
- Skills never need updating once learned
Match each idea
- Target setting
- Performance review
- Retraining
- Retention
- Agreeing clear goals for a worker to aim for
- A regular meeting to discuss how a worker is doing
- Learning new skills when the technology changes
- Keeping staff so that fewer of them leave
The review cycle
Put the steps of a performance review and target-setting cycle into a sensible order.
- The manager and worker meet to review the past year
- They discuss what went well and what did not
- They agree new targets for the year ahead
- They agree the training and support needed
- They meet again later to review progress
New machines
A factory installs new computer-controlled machines. What do the existing workers most need?
- Retraining to use the new technology
- No training, as they already have jobs
- A pay cut to help pay for the machines
- Replacing every worker with brand new staff
Training in words
Training that is planned and structured, like a course, is called _____ training, while learning on the job is _____ training. A regular meeting to review a worker is a _____ review. When technology changes, staff may need _____. Because trained staff feel valued and stay longer, training improves staff _____.
Formal and informal training
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Formal training is planned and structured, such as a course.
- Training can improve staff motivation and retention.
- Informal training always costs more than formal training.
- Once a skill is learned, it never needs updating.
- A performance review is a way of recruiting new staff.
Choose the training
Help each business make a training decision. Choose each time.
- A shop hires a new assistant who must learn the till quickly and cheaply. What suits best?
- An accountancy firm needs its staff to hold a recognised professional qualification. What suits best?
- A design studio installs new software that no one can use yet. What does it need?
Recommend a method
A growing cafe wants to improve how it trains its staff. Recommend one training method it could use, and explain how training could help the cafe keep its workers.
- Name one method of training the cafe could use
- Explain why that method suits the cafe
- Explain how training can improve staff motivation
- Explain how training can improve staff retention