On The Job Training

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Baby boy's bike has those wheels Americans call 'trainers.'

New job. New  foreman. New office. New workshop. New route. New uniform. New work vehicle. New safety standards. There is always on-the-job training. It is a fact of life, even for U.S.  Vice President Kamala Harris, despite her business suit pockets, overflowing with academic and on-the-job experience. She seems to be taking the November 5  training, like a duck to water.

How about trainers? Who trains new employees? It depends. The Human Resources Manager might take you around. In other workplaces, the manager you will be reporting to trains you or gives that responsibility to the best worker on the floor. The person who has been on the job longer might resent it, but the manager might have his reasons. Maybe the older worker is no longer into his work anymore and has a “I don’t know what I’m still doing here,” attitude. That is not the right person to train new employees. He might indoctrinate them with short cuts, and on-the-job training is about how to do the job properly, especially in industries where safety is #1.

New Employees

New employees can also be a problem because the internet has turned us into ‘I know it all.’  Youthful exuberance, too. There was a bus driver on a busy route who used to drink coffee and drive with one hand. We don’t see him anymore.

On-the-job training can be stressful for trainers. You can take a horse to the river, but you cannot make it drink. New employees who look down upon trainers do not last that long on the job. It might not be, a one-on-one training. Therefore, punching your phone when the trainer is talking to the group of five is a suicide mission. You will fail probation.

Hating trainers on sight is another factor.  We should not do it, but we look at someone’s hair and draw conclusions. What does she know? I once trained three workers. One disliked me at first glance. After a few days, she took the finished work order to the senior manager. He didn’t see my signature. She had the gall to say the job was ready. He told her that it is not ‘ready’ if it doesn’t have my signature.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

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