Employer Training: Forget It!

The vast majority of employers depend upon theirspecific skills which most employers are unaware of.
employees to be pre qualified in job skills at the time ofThe first of these is related to production. The first fact
their employment. Additional needed skills are obtainedis that all processing systems whether they be invoice
through "on the job training" Such employers may orprocessing, information processing or production itself
may not obtain their entry level employees throughcan and should be looked as if they were hydraulic
vocational training programs. They do however expectsystems. Within the system being reviewed, a choke
that the employee be knowledgeable about the job atpoint or system constraint slows the flow of whatever
the time of hire.is being processed. Where these situations occur,
Many of these enterprises also have a promote fromremoving the constraint will improve the system
within policy. Such policies are exemplary for theirthroughput. Below is an example system. It is modeled
reward of loyal employees, it can lead to a situationon your local water supply.
where the employee is promoted to a position whichThe non purified source of your public water supply is
require knowledge. In other words, the employee isthe the raw material for the water system. The water
promoted above the level of their knowledge andis next purified, The purification is the production
experience. Such circumstances can have disastrousprocess. The water then travels through the internal
consequences for both the employee and thedistribution system to the water tower. The water
employer.tower is the warehouse. The water then moves on
Many large and well organized enterprises require thatdemand through the external distribution system to its
their employees receive additional training aspoint of use at your house.
promotions in position occur. In some organizations theBy using the above type of analysis, you can identify
additional training is provided by the institution itself andsystem constraints in the various internal systems of
in other situations the requirements are for theany enterprise. Once identified, these problems are
completion of a degree or technical certification. Oftenoften easily solved.
these additional training requirements are repeatedOther functions which are not taken advantage of by
several times during the employee's career. Thissmall to medium sized enterprises are work
approach has the advantage that it insures thatmeasurement standards, developing written methods
employees are not promoted above their level of skilland procedures, budgeting and purchasing through the
and knowledge.use of periodic Requests for Quotation (RFQ). All of
Many employers, especially those which have only athe above disciplines can work together to bring about
few employees, are completely unaware of thereductions in costs and increases in productivity.
above practice. In actual fact they are delegating theThe principal reason that organizations do not take
task of knowledge about job content to theiradvantage of these disciplines, is that the employers
employee. This condition is potentially dangerous to theare not aware that they exist.
employer and the employee both.One of the reasons for publishing this information is to
There are several important managerial and jobcorrect that situation.