On-the-job Training

On-the-job training, often referred to as OJT, occurs whenever more experienced employees teach less experienced employees how to do one or more of the tasks of a job. It is practical, hands on, and found in all organizations at almost every level. On-the-job training is the single most commonly used training method in organizations today.

The most common applications of OJT are in training new workers in manual tasks. Typically, new employees are assigned to work alongside more senior employees, who show the novices how to do required tasks and oversee their work. All employees undergo some OJT, typically in cases where how-to knowledge is company specific and only one or two employees are learning at a time (e.g., administrative tasks such as time accounting or business-expense claims). Coaching and mentoring, especially at managerial levels, are also forms of OJT.

According to some studies, employees who receive more hours of OJT programs may start at lower wage levels; all studies report higher wage and productivity growth rates in firms with extensive OJT programs. The more educated the employees, the higher the rates of return for OJT; in fact, the return rate is more than 80 percent for college-educated employees. Studies have also shown that much OJT learning is portable across employers and even across industries. With today's boundaryless career model, OJT learning seems a wise investment.

Historically, all training was OJT. Children learned from their parents and extended family members. Medieval guilds established formal apprenticeship programs that many craft unions still use today, albeit with formalized courses of instruction and skill testing to determine task mastery. For example, the United Association's five-year program to train plumbers and pipefitters includes 1,700 to 2,000 hours of OJT each year.

OJT is highly cost effective, particularly in small companies where few employees require training at any given time. Companies normally spend three to six times as much on OJT as they do on formal training. The return on organizational investment is higher, since OJT includes no external trainer costs and materials fees. In addition, fewer employees are unproductive during OJT than during formal training, so productivity drops less—a particularly important benefit in smaller companies.

Learning is focused and usually faster, since both the trainer and the trainee generally engage in actual production during the training period. The training utilizes the actual equipment and materials from the live job, so no adaptation or retraining is required following the training period. Furthermore, no latency period follows OJT that allows the new skills to be forgotten. Hence, OJT is an excellent way for established employees to enhance their skills and learn new ones. OJT uncovers learning and ability problems quickly and allows them to be addressed within the departmental unit. In addition, since the trainer is usually a peer or supervisor, OJT can help build relationships with new employees.

Although OJT is very effective, it is not perfect. Most OJT trainers have received little or no instruction in teaching methods. Trainers are usually chosen because they are good at their jobs, rather than because they can explain those jobs. They may not be productive when their training styles do not match the learning styles of their trainees.

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