Training: Are you training for compliance or safety?

31 January 2016

The majority of workplaces we speak with understand the need for training; however, many do not “understand” the purpose of training. Well-kept and documented training records demonstrate excellent safety and compliance practices, not excellent training practices.

The purpose of training is not to demonstrate your records management skills; it is to ensure that your workers have been provided with the right skills to complete their job safely. Think about it for a moment; have you developed your training for your workers, or just to tick a compliance box?

How to improve training in your organisation?

Whilst your business may have well-presented training materials, do these training materials focus on all learning styles? If your training is based on paper based instructions or reading off a computer screen, you may have missed the mark for some workers. Develop robust training to include all learning styles. One of the most common and widely-used categorisations of learning styles is Fleming’s VARK model. This model suggests there are three learning styles:

Auditory:

The worker learns through listening. These workers depend on hearing and speaking as their main way of learning. Auditory learners must be able to hear what is being said in order to understand. These workers may have difficulty with instructions that are written.

Visual:

The worker learns when you present ideas, concepts, data, and other information with images and techniques.

Kinaesthetic (Tactile):

Learning takes place by the workers doing the task or role playing the task, rather than listening to how the task is done or watching a demonstration.

Most workers will learn across all styles, but some may strongly align with one style. To ensure that training is not only a safety and compliance exercise, look to incorporate all three learning styles into the delivery of all of your training sessions.

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