Training and development: induction, on-the-job and off-the-job training, continuing professional development, staff appraisal, and the costs and benefits of training to the organisation.

What this key area is asking

Once staff are recruited, the firm must train and develop them. The SQA wants you to know the types of training (induction, on-the-job, off-the-job), the idea of continuing professional development (CPD) and appraisal, and to discuss the costs and benefits of training. Higher rewards you for distinguishing the training types and weighing the cost of training against its gains in skills, motivation and retention.

Types of training

Induction training

Induction is given to a new employee in their first days, covering the organisation, their role, key people, health and safety, and procedures. Good induction helps the new starter become productive quickly, feel welcome and confident, and reduces early mistakes and the chance they leave.

On-the-job training

On-the-job training happens at the workplace while doing the job: watching and copying an experienced colleague, being coached, or job rotation to learn different tasks. It is cheaper, the worker stays productive, and the training is directly relevant. The drawbacks are that the trainer is taken off their own work, and the trainee may pick up bad habits.

Off-the-job training

Off-the-job training happens away from the immediate workplace: a college course, a training centre, or an external expert. It brings specialist tuition and fresh ideas, and avoids workplace distractions, but it is more expensive, the worker is not producing while away, and the training may be less specific to the firm.

CPD and appraisal

Appraisal helps the firm by identifying training needs, setting goals, recognising good work (which motivates), and addressing weak performance. Done well it supports development; done badly (as mere criticism) it can demotivate.

The costs and benefits of training

Benefits to the firm:

• higher skills, productivity and quality of output;
• fewer mistakes, waste and accidents;
• more flexible staff able to take on new tasks;
• better motivation, job satisfaction and retention (staff feel valued);
• easier to adopt new technology and meet legal requirements.

Costs to the firm:

• the expense of courses, trainers and materials;
• lost output while staff are training or away;
• the risk that newly trained staff leave for a better-paid job, wasting the investment.

Examples in context

Example 1. A new retail assistant's training. A new shop assistant receives induction (the store, the till, health and safety, colleagues) and then on-the-job training by working alongside an experienced colleague. This is cheap and relevant and keeps them productive as they learn, the standard way a firm trains front-line staff, though the experienced colleague is partly taken off their own work, the classic on-the-job trade-off.

Example 2. Professional CPD for an accountant. An accountant attends off-the-job courses to learn new tax rules and software, counting as continuing professional development. The firm pays course fees and loses the accountant's time, but the up-to-date skills prevent costly errors and keep the firm compliant, showing why ongoing off-the-job training and CPD are worthwhile for skilled, fast-changing roles.

Try this

Q1. Describe the purpose of induction training. [2 marks]

• Cue. Induction introduces a new employee to the organisation, their job, colleagues, procedures and health and safety, so they settle in, feel welcome and become productive quickly, with fewer early mistakes.

Q2. Explain two benefits to a business of training its staff. [4 marks]

• Cue. Training raises skills, productivity and the quality of output; it reduces mistakes, waste and accidents; it makes staff more flexible; and it improves motivation, job satisfaction and retention because workers feel valued (any two, developed).