Training is Key as Worker Shortage Looms on Horizon
by Gloria Dunn
North Bay Business Journal - June 2003
An increased shortage of skilled workers will challenge most organizations in the near future. Many companies will experience a glaring gap between existing skills and those available to fill open positions. Although there is a excess of good, skilled people looking for jobs today, this supply will not last. As the economy improves, companies will again grab for the best employees making a shortage inevitable. What do employers do to zap the gap?
To keep and attract skilled people, successful companies provide ongoing learning opportunities to ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to be effective, productive and interactive on the job. The need for education doesn’t stop at high school or college. It is essential throughout the course of one’s career. Everyone at every level of the organization needs ongoing learning.
Training programs provide a wide array of skill-building opportunities that show employees how to perform specific tasks, as well as how to interact with each other in the workplace. Training must combine the technical, social, and leadership skills that develop both work-smart employees and work-smart organizational teams.
Training and the Bottom Line
The ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) Benchmarking Services has demonstrated a link between training and an organization’s bottom line. Data for 1996 and 1997 reveal that organizations using innovative training practices reported better performance than their competitors.
In one example, research showed that manufacturing firms that implemented training programs had an increase in productivity by an average of 17 percent.
An investment in training in 1996 was strongly linked to companies’ reported financial performance based on profitability,quality of products and services, customer and employee satisfaction, and the ability to retain employees. ASTD has additionally found a link between company expenditures on training and net sales, gross profits, and market value.
More Benefits
Here are some more Training Benefits:
- Develops skills that meet job and industry requirements
- Improves quality and productivity
- Encourages collaboration and team learning
- Boosts morale
- Keeps employees informed about new technologies and company policies
- Raises standards for service delivery
- Secures greater customer satisfaction
- Ensures employee satisfaction and reduces turnover
Training initiatives are moving companies to add staff to their training departments as well as use external training resources to support the organization’s goals. Training and educational opportunities also exist outside of companies through associations, colleges and workshop providers. Mixing internal training programs with programs offered by outside resources helps companies keep employees on the cutting edge of their professions.
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Gloria Dunn is a management and organizational development consultant, and president of Wiser Ways to Work. She is the author of "From Making a Living to Having a Life", and also writes and speaks on management topics. She can be reached at 415-883-8239 or at
gloria@wiserwaystowork.com or
visit her website: www.wiserwaystowork.com.
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