October 31, 2012
You cannot make a better training choice than multi-sensory instruction! You can’t! Not lectures — not textbooks — not equipment manufacturers written operating instructions — not computer-based training (CBT) — not reading-based e-Learning (i.e., repurposed PowerPoint) — not even hands-on with “Ol’ Charlie! Nope! Multi-sensory learning, with an emphasis on full motion video, is the best way to train — hands down! If you want your trainees to learn necessary skills and,...
October 25, 2012
Thinking ahead and assuming nothing are the most important traits of a successful trainer. New equipment, with its technological improvements (and, its unique training challenges), comes into your plant routinely. “Ol’ Charlie,” who has been lubricating the rotating equipment in your facility for twenty years, may not know what you expect he knows. Supervisors may become “blind” to safety hazards that they pass by ten times a day. Respiratory equipment procedures may...
October 23, 2012
Both presidential candidates espouse their desire to bring more manufacturing jobs back to America. However, they each fail to fully comprehend that the skills required for many of today’s “manufacturing jobs” have evolved — along with the technologies that have made industry more efficient. It is, undoubtedly, true that the jobs of today and tomorrow will require a workforce that is better educated and better trained than the workforce of the 20th...
October 18, 2012
We cavalierly toss around the term, “skills training,” without giving it much thought. But, it’s time to regroup and examine just what we mean by skills training — particularly, as it applies to the process and manufacturing world. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services offers us this definition: “Education or training designed to provide the participant with the basic skills and certification necessary for employment in an occupational area.”...
October 11, 2012
As a trainer you have many options today — from traditional classroom instruction with hands-on practice to the latest in technology-based learning. But, which method is best for each training initiative you undertake? For training a large number of students in a relatively short amount of time, the better training method may be one that can be administered to a large group. If cost is no issue, classroom instruction will work —...
October 9, 2012
It’s no secret that we’ve all been inundated with the hype surrounding e-Learning. If one chooses to believe everything one hears and reads, e-Learning is today’s training technology of choice. You may think you know what the term — e-Learning — means. But, I would ask you to think again. Actually, courses that run successfully over the Web may, or may not, provide effective learning for your trainees. In far too many...
October 4, 2012
A generalization that has been floating around for decades reads: “When it comes to adopting new learning innovations, Public Education generally trails Corporate Training by at least a decade.” Corporate Training moves more quickly to address the learning challenges they face. After all, they are dealing with the bottom line issue of profitability. They have to pay attention to learning culture changes or many of their workers will not learn enough to...
October 2, 2012
Last week, I wrote about your critical importance to your organization. I wrote: “If you work in a facility that is part of a large corporation, the workers at your site need you more than they ever have! . . . Because you have knowledge of the procedures necessary to your plant’s operations and you have knowledge of the training gaps that exist within your facility.” The other side of that coin...
