Smart Training Principle #5 – “True Competency-Based Content” Know the variables

In our exploration of Smart Training Principals in this blog series, we now come to #5 – True Competency-Based Content. What do we mean by that? ??Most people are only familiar with one part of competency-based training. That’s training a person to be competent in some task or job role, and then he or she gets validated in that task or job role.

For “true” competency-based training, it also requires the start and end point of training to be variables. When we think about competency-based training there is usually a timetable also, such as, “You have six months to learn this job. This is the maximum amount of time the employer can tolerate for their trainees to reach their performance goals before intervening. ?

Now consider that not every trainee will start their training with a blank slate or learn at the same pace. Your training framework must be able to respond to this reality for all the advantages of true competency-based.

With Smart Training Solutions, everyone trains towards what they don’t know, not what he or she already knows. If someone is coming from another shop or if someone is coming from Starbuck’s there will be two different starting points. Thus, there may be two different end points also.

Sally might be proficient in that job role three months, but it takes Tom seven. Maybe Tom is a slower learner. Maybe there weren’t as many training opportunities as possible on his shift. Maybe there were opportunities, but they weren’t taken as frequently for him for whatever reason the company had. Again, the variability of start and end points must be integrated into your training for “true” competency-based.

You can also understand that a modular approach to training makes the most sense. By modular I mean establishing job “roles” based on how your organization assigns responsibilities to employees within the work environment. These roles do not necessarily align with occupations or positions; rather, they are modularized based on how your company actually operates during production.

Each role is a module. ?It makes the transfer of skills and knowledge much more flexible so that the employer can move people around where needed in the shop depending on the production needs. Sure, Joe, may not know everything yet that encompasses the entire scope of his job, but man, he can run that cell really well, and that’s what the company needs him for the time being. Joe’s training has focused on the role of that cell as a module. Other opportunities will be identified for Joe to learn other roles in his overall job description as the weeks and months unfold.

Do you see how modular training is so attractive and helpful for an organization? The employer didn’t have to wait 4 to 5 years for Joe to get proficient in everything before he was productive. He’s producing in an important role right now after maybe 4 months of modular, purposeful, and validated training. Now that’s True Competency-Based!

All the Smart Principles work in concert with each other. As a recap, they are:

• Training from the End
• Stakeholder Environment
• Separate Trainers and Evaluators
• Dual Training Environments
• True Competency-Based Content
• True Performance Validation
• Win-Win

And, as promised, we are unwrapping the key principles and behaviors one by one in this blog series. The next one will focus on True Performance Validation.

The best way to understand this new way of approaching training for today’s manufacturers is to learn more about the Smart Training Solutions framework and how it can apply to your staffing needs. If you would like to book time with me and jump start your OJT program, please call the NIMS office at (703) 352-4971.

Thanks for following me and staying tuned!

Always learning,

Montez