Practice #1 – Strategy Driven
Workplace learning should be linked to the goals and drivers of the organizations or business units. There must be an explicit alignment between program goals and business goals. The goal is relevance. Apprenticeships should also be linked to the company’s workforce development plans to ensure that there are appropriately qualified and trained employees in both the short and long term. In an increasingly competitive job market, companies will need to ensure they have developed an apprenticeship that focuses on identifying, developing and retaining talent.
Companies can make the mistake of letting qualifications and government funding drive their learning. The company should always start with its drivers and performance expectations: the specific skills, attributes and behaviors required. Once you have identified your requirements, you can map them to national qualifications. From a business perspective, it should be recognized that full qualifications may not need to be offered, but rather specific skill sets.
Practice #2: Investing in Entrepreneurship
Companies must provide sufficient funding to ensure that they have the necessary capabilities (systems, practices, staffing, resources and infrastructure) to manage the learning environment. The company must ensure that it allocates sufficient funds to support key learning initiatives to ensure that it delivers the necessary results.
Practice #3: Work-Centered Active Learning
One of the most important elements of successful training and development is that it can be easily transferred to the workplace. Learning is based on action and not simply on theory. The best companies are training their employees by having them perform “real” tasks and projects both in a training environment and on the job. Ideally, employees learn in their own way and at their own pace through assignments that do real work. The individual should be expected to present what they have learned and identify opportunities to transfer the knowledge for the benefit of the company.
Summary
These are the top 3 practices, some of the others include various modes of delivery, compelling value, etc. Workplace learning can be effective, you just need to implement a few critical steps. Getting the right staff is not enough, to be productive and profitable, investing in workplace learning using best practices provides a significant return on investment.