The issue of employee training is a pressing one. As an employee, you need to keep growing and learning to stay useful, and to advance your career. As an employer, you need to offer ongoing training to create an effective and happy workforce.
The question is, what type of training is best for your needs?
Today we’re specifically going to look at IT training, since IT is a skill which applies to virtually every field of employment out there.
So what type of IT training is best for you, which is it that will get you to the next level?
Interactive Training
Interactive training involves learning by doing. It’s easy to see why this method is effective. Doing a task in a controlled environment gives you actual experience, rather than just theory. Today we have the luxury of multiple places offering hands-on IT training courses, which makes this type of training accessible to all of us.
This type of learning keeps your workers engaged because they aren’t just listening or watching, they are actually performing the task. Likewise it can bring up situations which could have been missed in classroom teaching. This is a great way to increase general skills in a short amount of time, and is also great for an overall approach where multiple employees are being trained.
Instructor Training
Being trained by an experienced instructor is another great learning option. Studies have shown that tutoring can be highly effective, especially in a one to one situation. Class situations are a little less effective because attention is divided. This type of learning is recommended for either small groups or individuals. An exception to this would be a highly talented and co-ordinated team.
Tutoring is best used for expert skills, as these are more intricate and require individual adaptations to be learned properly. This is also why an advanced team can benefit from these sessions, their advanced skills could be improved on or polished by the guidance of a specialist. This type of training can be expensive and require some time commitment to really pay off, but it’s a great way to improve specialist skills.
Video/Book Learning
One of the oldest methods known to man, or at least book learning is. Video learning is the modern day equivalent. The benefits of this method will depend a lot on your employees and the skills being learned. It’s a good, cheap way to pick up some basic dependable skills. Keep in mind that it requires your employees to actually participate and have the motivation to learn.
Additionally there could be problems with misunderstandings as this type of learning doesn’t come with any supervision or testing – unless you think of a way to implement it. This type of learning is best used only for basic skills. Anything above that and your employees might lose the motivation to even try. Besides, more important skills really need to be tested and proven through more intense forms of training.
