Private Sector Study Guide

African countries are adopting public-private partnership as an economic approach to ameliorate their economies. The involvement of the private sector to foster the improvement of the workforce can affect the entire economy. The operations of the companies in the formulation and implementation of the training is having its own potential to grow as a strategy. The provided opportunity to the professionals deserves an upgrading approach into their skills and to their careers.

Without the appropriate answer in the needs of the employees for training there is a devastating effect on the growth of the business and the African countries’ economy Different administrative reforms of the private companies adopted different strategies and adjustments to satisfy the needs. With respect to the core personnel policies, there should be an effective way to enhance the job performance of the employee. The aid of the training and development is one of the major steps that most of the private companies want to keep in their system to achieve the quality of performance.

The strength of any organization is its human capital. If people are attended to properly by recognizing their talents, developing their capabilities and utilizing them appropriately, organizations are likely to be dynamic and grow fast. Ultimately the variety of task in any organization has to be accomplished by its human capital.

Training is defined as a continuous learning process in which the employees will acquire knowledge, enhance professional skills and improve attitudes and behaviours to excel well on the job. “Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an employee for doing a particular job.”-Edwin B. Flippo.  Many organizations have noted with concern that the human resource departments spend a lot on training and the output has left a lot to be desired. Yet, the objectives of the training department to identify the required training needs of an organization and fill the gap with a host of training methods for the welfare of the organization and employees on a whole.    

Organizations go through lengthy processes to recruit and onboard qualified and suitable employees, but often the emphasis stops there, with some business leaders disregarding the importance of developing their employees and nurturing their potential.

Over the past few years, the world of work has been disrupted, initially and gradually, by the onset of the 4th Industrial Revolution and this disruption was accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Training is an organized activity for increasing the technical skills of the employees to enable them to do particular jobs efficiently. In other words, training provides the workers with facility to gain technical knowledge and to learn new skills to do specific jobs. Training is equally important for the existing as well as the new employees. It enables the new employees to get acquainted with their jobs and also increase the job-related knowledge and skills.

The rapid integration of technological disruption and digital transformation has resulted in many businesses struggling to keep up with rapid innovation in the workplace. This, combined with widening skills gaps, is why actively investing in employee training and development is essential for both the growth of the business and the workforce that propels it. Filling the company’s skills gaps through the up skilling and reskilling of individuals or groups of employees, could be the difference between thriving or barely surviving through any change.

(i) Higher Productivity:

It is essential to increase productivity and reduce cost of production for meeting competition in the market. Effective training can help increase productivity of workers by imparting the required skills.

(ii) Quality Improvement:

The customers have become quality conscious and their requirement keep on changing. To satisfy the customers, quality of products must be continuously improved through training of workers.

(iii) Reduction of Learning Time:

Systematic training through trained instructors is essential to reduce the training period. If the workers learn through trial and error, they will take a longer time and even may not be able to learn right methods of doing work.

(iv) Industrial Safety:

Trained workers can handle the machines safely. They also know the use of various safety devices in the factory. Thus, they are less prone to industrial accidents.

(iv) Reduction of Turnover and Absenteeism:

Training creates a feeling of confidence in the minds of the workers. It gives them a security at the workplace. As a result, labour turnover and absenteeism rates are reduced.

(vi) Technology Update:

Technology is changing at a fast pace. The workers must learn new techniques to make use of advance technology. Thus, training should be treated as a continuous process to update the employees in the new methods and procedures.

(vii) Effective Management:

Training can be used as an effective tool of planning and control. It develops skills among workers and prepares them for handling present and future jobs. It helps in reducing the costs of supervision, wastages and industrial accidents. It also helps increase productivity and quality which are the cherished goals of any modern organization.

Clearly, it is no longer enough for the private sector to expect educational systems to produce candidates who possess the precise skills-sets required for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs. Collaboration with educational institutions, not-for-profits and government organizations can help bridge the gaps that separate students and the unemployed from acquiring the right skills, guidance and opportunities.

Although OJT increases firm productivity, firms under provide it. Under what conditions will firms optimally invest in OJT? Firms that function/compete in high-productivity environments tend to provide more OJT. More competitive product markets push poorly performing firms out and raise the stakes for existing firms that could capture greater market share were they to increase investment in new practices or lower costs. As markets open, more demanding standards will require higher human capital levels.

Problems at the management level can also contribute to low OJT demand. A robust body of evidence exists about information failures within firm management.  These can be both caused by and lead to limited managerial time, limited autonomy, misinformed cost-benefit comparisons with low-quality local competitors leading, in turn, to a “we are ok” mindset and misaligned incentives.

In most African economies despite being introduced to a low-cost technology which improved product quality and firm profitability, the management team did not encourage workers to retrain due to poorly-designed human resource (HR) policies. In competitive markets, managers are more fearful of losing their jobs. Firm owners are more likely to select competent CEOs (ideally a non-family member) and institute performance-based HR policies to attract and retain talent. These issues can be addressed directly – through business consulting services – at the firm level or by improving product market competition to improve management quality.

The private sector should note that employee training involves programs that enable employees to learn precise skills or gain knowledge to improve job performance. Employee development is a process whereby the manager and employee work together to create a development plan. This plan identifies areas to develop or enhance, and ascertains what actions or activities need to be taken to acquire and embed that learning. This development plan is aligned with the organization’s goals and ultimately serves as a template showing skills that the employee requires and how they can go about acquiring them. Now, more than ever, owing to the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic, learning and development (L&D) in business is taking top priority in the workplace.

The greatest challenge faced by private business leaders driving the adoption of disruptive technology, is insufficient internal skills when combining technology with technical proficiency. As industries innovate so new technologies emerge, which has a profound impact on education and development. The ability to merge new technology with creative learning methods will ensure that teams learn new skills or re-skill dynamically, through a future-oriented approach.

Organizations have opted for a shortcut to training yet the benefits of employees training include;

Positive employee retention

The hiring and retention of talent can be an ongoing challenge for employers, however one way to retain your staff is by providing them with career development opportunities. Including development program offerings in employment contracts establishes an employee’s sense of value within the company, fostering loyalty and ultimately increasing staff retention. Investing in your staff’s professional development is not only vital for team retention, but learning and development professionals worldwide have reported that they’re observing a stronger appetite for up skilling than ever before,

Training future leaders

Many organizations in African countries struggle with succession due to the fact that little attention is paid to training future leaders of the organization(s). Acquiring leadership talent can start from the initial acquisition, or human resources professionals can select current employees as managerial candidates. Having established leadership development programs ensures that a business is always considering future organizational goals and succession planning by preparing promotable talent.

Employee empowerment

A trained employee is an empowered employee. Recent research shows that leaders who inspire, ignite people’s imaginations, and mobilize them with a compelling vision are more impactful than managers who simply focus on the bottom line.

Increased workplace engagement

Regular development initiatives can help keep employees motivated, while frequent training programs will also establish regular re-evaluation of employees, skills, and processes. Assessing the current skills and abilities within a team will enable managers to strategically plan targeted development programs that consider any potential skills gaps.

What is the importance of training employees?

Training to employees is an important element to a successful organization. It offers the chance for employees to learn new skills, enhance their knowledge, and understand more about the company. Here are several reasons that training employees is a vital component of a successful organization:

It improves knowledge and skills

Training is critical for anyone to develop and improve their expertise and abilities. When you offer training to employees, you create a learning environment that encourages growth and development.

It shows employees their value to the organization

Training programs for your employees demonstrates the organization’s willingness to invest in their success and growth. When employees feel that the company invests in their growth and development, it improves morale, productivity, and employee retention. In addition, as you provide ongoing training opportunities, employees learn new skills, develop existing ones, and take on greater responsibilities, providing a win-win situation for the organization.

It prepares employees for greater responsibilities

Training programs help prepare employees for taking on greater responsibilities and assisting in their career growth. By offering education on role-specific skills, such as leadership abilities, management styles, or conducting effective performance evaluations, you help prepare individuals to advance in the company.

It provides actionable recommendations during performance evaluations

When completing performance evaluations with your staff, you typically identify areas of opportunity for skill development or knowledge improvement. Having training programs available allows your employees to create actionable steps to improve their work performance by completing educational modules, thus satisfying the requirements within a performance evaluation.

It improves IT and computer skills

By including IT and computer skills in your organization’s training program, you can ensure that employees use software programs and other technology productively to enhance their daily work tasks. For example, providing in-depth training on how to use software, such as creating graphs, spreadsheets, or databases, can improve an employee’s ability to perform their job faster and easier.

What can the private sector do to empower their employees?

Organizations in the private sector cannot run away from the reality about training and therefore they should do the following:

Target soft skills

The latest Get Smarter 2021 report, which focuses on resetting professional careers in a COVID-19 world, found that training for soft skills and enhancing interpersonal (or more human) skills is a key trend for talent development in 2021 and the foreseeable future.

The modern workplace requires adaptable, critical thinkers who can communicate effectively and are aware of their value as well as their areas of development. The Get Smarter Skills Hierarchy enables you to identify individual or group strengths and areas of growth, and can reveal skills gaps in your team that need to be filled.

Personalize employee development

Modern talent development technology has made learning personalization a reality. Approaching workplace development with a one-size-fits-all mentality is counteractive to a growing, diversified workplace – employees need to be assessed on and acknowledged for their specific skills, technological fluency, and learning approach.

Emphasize digital learning

Employers need to reduce resistance to learning by engaging talent through the existing platforms they already choose to spend their time on. Agile learning methodologies that focus on speed, flexibility and collaboration are the future of learning and development. This is the approach that will enable leaders to better manage skills gaps by ensuring people are rapidly up skilled or reskilled for the benefit of work and business performance.

Create a strategic development plan 

As the skills gap continues to widen, employers need to take the initiative in training employees to reskill and up skill them. The steps involved in creating a development plan begin with establishing business goals.

Up skilling and reskilling efforts can sustain and fuel company growth. In planning for future growth and creating training solutions that target those goals; L&D needs to collaborate with all stakeholders to identify current and future skills gaps. Organizations need to support a culture of constant development that is able to recognize overall industry change and provide relevant training to overcome the challenges that may arise from such changes.

Develop Employment Skills. These are aimed at function-specific skills, whether technical, vocational or academic, as well as problem-solving and idea communication plus retraining and up skilling programmes.

Foster Entrepreneurship. Businesses can go beyond their own human-capital limits and enhance the economic ecosystem by encouraging entrepreneurship along the value chain via financial support for start-ups and non-financial support such as training, mentoring and networking.

Connect Talent to Markets. These seek to connect employees and employers through counseling, changing perceptions and ensuring the inclusion of traditionally marginalized or disadvantaged groups.s

Private organizations should know when employee training is crucial to an organization.

Some private take it for granted that there must training on the annual programme chart. This gives way to HRM to send employees for training without thorough identification of the knowledge-skill gaps within the organization. There are several circumstances when employee training is crucial to an organization. Providing adequate training during these times provides support to new and existing employees to better understand the company and their role within it. These situations include:

Training for a new employee

When a new employee joins your organization, it’s critical to provide them with training specific to your company and their role and responsibilities. This training introduces new employees to the organization’s history, mission, and company values. New employees receive an overview of the organizational structure and better understand their specific roles in relation to the objectives and goals. In addition, they often learn about company procedures and policies, such as requesting days off and how their manager conducts performance evaluations.

Training for an existing employee

There is a tendency to assume that old staff is competent and therefore there is no need for training. Organizations also offer training for existing employees. This type of training usually focuses on helping employees to improve specific skills or refresh their knowledge. This can include industry-related seminars, product knowledge information, or skills development, such as effective communication or team-building skills.

Training focused on career growth and promotion

Another area for employee training essential to an organization is providing learning for career growth and promotion. Part of any career path within a company should include a training program. An organization needs to identify a clear and progressive training plan for those individuals seeking advancement.

Training focused on new technology or procedures

When an organization updates their computer systems, software programs, or equipment and machinery, it will create programs to train staff and management on the new technology and procedures. Often, this training is part of a larger technology launch or roll-out within the organization.

Covid 19 has been an eye-opener to most organizations to turn their attention towards E-Learning and for this reason private organizations can still train their employees on-line to enhance their knowledge and skills. PEC offers a comprehensive training package for employees in both the public and private sector.