On- the- job training is a primary skills training approach. It is the most widely used method of training. One estimate shows that more than 60 percent of training occurs on –the- job. Under this method, the employee is placed into the real work situation and shown the job and the tricks of the trade by an experienced employee or the supervisor. It is learning by doing.
Methods of On-the – Job Training
There are several methods of on-the-job training. They are discussed below:
i) Apprenticeship Training: Employees are placed in the actual job temporarily under the guidance of a master worker. They become skilled workers through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the job training by experienced supervisor, managers or other in-house experts. Assistantship and internships are similar to apprenticeship because they use high levels of participation by the trainee and have high transferability to the job. Successful completion of training would make employees permanent. This training is popular in crafts, trades and in technical areas.
ii) Coaching: Coaching is a way of training in which a coach, generally a supervisor and/or a manager, attempts to provide a model of work with the trainee to copy and do exactly as it is. The coach will supervise the trainees and give necessary corrections to do the job correctly. At the end, the trainees will be experienced and capable to do that job independently.
iii) Pre-employment Training: This training is given to the prospective job candidates before employment is given to prepare them for the actual job. Job seekers are tested, trained and instructed in employment fundamentals without pay by the organization and they are rated on their willingness to work as well as on-the- job aptitude. This will enable the organization to get firm-specific skilled employees from whom the firm will have ready and quality service.
iv) Vestibule Training: It gives skills training to individuals after they are hired but before they are assigned to specific jobs (French, 1997:292). Here, separate areas or vestibules are set up with equipment similar to that used on the job. Trainees do the actual job here and become skilled.
v) Job Instruction Training (JIT): This is a standard instruction to do a particular job prepared by the supervisors to train operatives. It is a written instruction manual for doing a particular job. The trainee will go through it and do the job as the instruction is given. By following the instruction correctly, the trainee will learn how to do the job effectively.
Follow