by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center 
There’s always direct evidence that mastering one more task means an incremental increase in worker capacity. The secret of a successful workforce development project lies in not leading with the core and technical instruction no matter how job relevant we are convinced, but leading with the SOJT since it’s easy to explain and an employer can perceive the benefits far faster. Once the SOJT is up and running, and proving itself to upper management, employers are more inclined to add core and related technical instruction to enhance the worker development process.
But related technical instruction needs to be separated into two components: core skill development and advanced skill development. Core skill development is shoring-up any deficiencies that an employee might have that would hinder them in mastering the tasks in the SOJT program. Advanced skill development relates to enhancing the employee’s performance by providing additional knowledge that impacts their core skill base.
SOJT before related technical instruction is the horse before the cart. Nobody would think of trying to motivate an employee to higher level performance through educational learning when they haven’t had an opportunity to master the tasks that they were hired to perform in the first place; or would they? It’s an inefficient use of resources that sometimes leave a bad taste in the client’s mouth that will be hard to overcome. Once a training or learning provider loses their credibility with a client, the client is usually reluctant to use them for additional services. The case will be even harder for them to make to accounting.
If you recognize these challenges and have shed your fear of even looking at other solutions, check out Proactive Technologies’ structured on-the-job training system approach to see how it might work at your firm, your family of facilities or your region. Contact a Proactive Technologies representative today to schedule a GoToMeeting videoconference briefing to your computer. This can be followed up with an onsite presentation for you and your colleagues. A 13-minute promo briefing is available at the Proactive Technologies website and provides an overview to get you started and to help you explain it to your staff. As always, onsite presentations are available as well.
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