Training is Germane

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion” –Muhammad Ali.

Training is about gaining the skills needed for a job. It can be acquired at the place of work (on-the-job) or away from work (off-the-job). On-the-job training tends to be more cost-effective and relevant. However, off-the-job training is usually carried out by professional trainers and It mostly occurs away from the distractions of work.

For an individual to be developed, training is germane. And this is more about the individual – making him or her more efficient at a job or capable of facing different responsibilities and challenges. Development concentrates on the broader skills that are applicable to a wider variety of situations, such as creative thinking, decision-making and people management.

Training is typically linked to a particular subject matter and it is often applicable to that subject only, but development is based on growing broader skills which can be used in many situations. Training tends to have very specific and measurable goals, and this is why an individual must enroll for as many of it as possible.

Tunde, who works as the Public Relations Executive in a consulting firm got a devastating query from his boss. The query addressed his low productivity that had lingered for the last 2 quarters, several meetings had been set up to address the obvious challenge, as his performance level was already telling negatively on the firm’s overall revenue. Tunde knew something urgent had to be done about the duress inflicting query.

He immediately scheduled a meeting with the Human Resource Manager, who had proposed that he went for a Productivity Enhancement training two months before he got the query. He didn’t take it serious then, because the company was to bear only 70% of the training cost for him and he was to pay the remaining 30%. Tunde, who wasn’t ready to part with his money 2 months ago was now more than willing to pay 30% of the training fee.

The Productivity Enhancement training which held the following week had Tunde as the most active participant, he knew what was at stake, and so he participated in the training like his job depended on it, and it actually did. At the end of the training which lasted for 3 working days, Tunde returned to his office and started deploying the productivity strategies he learnt at the training. No sooner had he started than the company revenue and brand awareness started rising, Tunde became a star performer ever since and eventually won the best staff of the year award.

The benefits that accrue from training is an expression that it is very germane. As a committed lifelong learner, your continuous acquisition of skills and knowledge via training sets you apart and makes you the choice for employers, promotion, clients, business partner and customers.