On-the-Job Training
Dennis Hernandez posted Apr 8, 2020 7:40 PM
On-the-Job Training (OJT) is very crucial in developing employees on how to perform their jobs. This is a very important tool that is used pretty much everywhere today. OJT is a process in allowing experienced employees to train and guide new employees on how to perform their job in the actual work environment (Jacobs & Mohammad, 2012). Usually, the employer has some type of quality assurance (QA) function to determine the effectiveness of training and evaluate employee job performance. In the military, OJT is used in all career fields and is very effective in passing on valuable job knowledge to new personnel. In the military, individuals complete Career Development Courses, which is reading material that complements their work duties. However, reading about how to do your job is very different from actually performing the work. In my career field, for example, we maintain and repair air traffic control radars. An individual can read about how to repair an electronic system, however, actual OJT training further enhances an individuals comprehension and proficiency in maintaining the system which is very important in building skills, as well as confidence in new technicians.
The problem with OJT is limitations with the trainers and the training materials themselves. An employee, if trained poorly, will never reach their potential. This is why it is very important to have qualified individuals training employees using training materials/programs in order to enhance an individuals true potential. As HRM professionals, we can be objective in determining the value of OJT by not being overly attached to a specific OJT program. To do this, a separate QA department would be used to objectively and effectively evaluate the training program used, as well as evaluate an employees skills. In the military this is called a personal evaluation. It is effective in determining the strengths and weaknesses stemming from a training program. For an evaluation to be effective, clear objectives must be presented and evaluated as objectively as possible, (OJT In Japan, 2000).
Jacobs, R. L., & Mohammad Jaseem Bu-Rahmah. (2012). Developing employee expertise through structured on- the-job training (S-OJT): An introduction to this training approach and the KNPC
experience. Industrial and Commercial Training, 44(2), 75-84. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/10.1108/00197851211202902
OJT In Japan. (2000). Retrieved from https://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=3c8a9f16-9474-472c-954c-323b36caac7a%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=3446083&db=bth