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productionmachining.com :: 19 Helping Precision Machine Shops Be More ProducƟ ve and Profi table Workforce Development Helping You To Meet Your Workforce Challenges Training the Next Generation: The Need for Professional Development By Sterling Gill, III, New Workforce Development Manager Professional development and staff train- ing are important to the success of every shop. Professional development ensures employees maintain appropriate certifi - cations, knowledge, safety and ethics in the professional environment. The goal of professional development is to have a qualifi ed staff. Qualifi ed employees have the skills needed to deliver the highest quality of service to our customers. This can be accomplished by establishing training programs, workshops and ongo- ing educational opportunities. This ben- efi ts the company as a whole by improv- ing productivity, culture and customer loyalty while helping employees achieve their highest and best performance. Establish a Training Program Establish a training program that identi- fi es the necessary requirements to be fulfi lled. Safety training, technical com- petency and performance techniques are all possible deliverables. By provid- ing this kind of training, the company can feel comfortable knowing they have improved staff knowledge leading to improved performance from their em- ployees. Better performance means im- proved safety, quality and customer sat- isfaction. Training improves competency, so it improves performance and trust. Im- proved trust improves teamwork. Every- body wins. Why would you choose not to establish a training program? Administer the Training Program Identifying training needs is the fi rst step. Administering a program to provide the training, testing that it has been effec- tively learned, and tracking training ac- complishments are the next steps. Any course materials should be accredited to recognized national standards such as National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), of which PMPA is a found- ing member, or the Department of Labor Apprenticeship. Implement the training through your people, or rely on a provid- er of training that can assure the accredi- tation of the material and also monitor the completion of each training course by each learner. Training can be provided by a face-to-face demonstration of skills on the job by mentors in the shop, while oth- er materials can be provided via an online forum. The online materials and the stu- dents' progress are tracked through the online portal. Evaluate the Effectiveness of Training In order to ensure that the training is help- ing the trainees and the organizations reach their goals, a means to evaluate its effectiveness needs to take place. This can be done by managers or by a profes- sional development committee. Feedback from trainees, their team leads and data from the online portal can help the team further refi ne their training offerings and methodology. Assessing trainee perfor- mance is just as important as identifying passing scores on quizzes and tests. Most employees will pass the coursework, but feedback will help the company refi ne the training to clarify materials that seem un- clear or diffi cult to master, as well as de- velop a plan to ensure that each employ- ee has multiple opportunities to meet the requirements of the standard. Evaluate the Effi ciency and Effectiveness of the Program It is not enough to evaluate the training. It is just as important to evaluate the ef- fi ciency, effectiveness and impact that the training provided had on the employees and its impact on the company's over- all performance. Less downtime? Shorter setup times? More independent decision making on the shop fl oor? Better team- work as trained employees become more trusted employees? What do these mean in terms of uptime, operational fulfi llment and bottom line profi tability? What is the Cost of Training? Better yet, what is the cost of not train- ing? What is the benefi t of having quali- fi ed personnel, a qualifi ed program and a qualifi ed and aligned team? What is the value of having a standard work of best practices in your shop? How can you get to standard work and best practices without some training means to create that knowledge through- out your shop? Which of your per- formers could not benefi t from some additional training? How important is funding? Funding is what it takes to bridge the gap be- tween your company's current per- formance and your aspiration to be the highest performing shop serving your customers. Appropriate funding is necessary to ensure that training is effective, authoritative and appropri- ate. Without funding, inappropriate training or lack of training may result in misinformation, some staff remaining uninformed and possibly working dan- gerously because they have not been trained to recognize unsafe practices. Overcoming our Shared Challenges The challenges we share revolve around the ability to remain consis- tent in the approach to training and developing personnel. They can be overcome by establishing, administer- ing and evaluating the training that we provide, as well as our program that provides it. Planning, persistence and teamwork are keys to getting this done. When an individual is trained, they feel comfortable with information and guidelines, and thus, become suc- cessful as they positively impact those with whom they work. There is no doubt that all our compa- nies need and can benefi t from profes- sional development. There are many resources that will help an individual to grow and develop both professionally and personally. All companies claim to have the ability to communicate, docu- ment and provide instruction on the skill sets needed. If we are to achieve our desired professional development outcomes, we must be a savvy shop- per and keep our eye on the goal.