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Published 01/06/2024

Employee Training Plan: Best Guide, Example and Templates

An employee training plan serves as a strategic tool to enhance the skills and knowledge of employees within an organization. By outlining specific learning objectives and development activities, a training plan aims to improve job performance, boost productivity, and foster career advancement opportunities for employees. Ultimately, an effective training plan contributes to creating a more skilled workforce, leading to increased operational efficiency and overall business success.

Training of recruits or existing employees needs a documented process that outlines every step and procedure required. A robust employee training plan is the backbone of production because the competent the employees are, the quality of the output. Well highlighted, what is a training plan?

A training plan describes objectives, procedures, resources, tools, strategies, and curriculum to be used when training users. A training plan should be resilient to accommodate emerging issues. A live example of an emerging issue is the COVID-19. The program consists of training content, requirements, trainers, training schedule, time plan, and expectations. Commonly this is the structure you would put in place as part of a new employee training plan or be in response to outcomes from your performance appraisal system.

View Training Plan Templates, Forms and Examples

Components of an effective Employee Training Plan

1. Schedule

A training plan is not complete without a schedule. The schedule describes every activity concerning the time it is planned to take place. A schedule is an important component of the training plan and acts as a driver to routine activities. Without a schedule, trainees will end up wasting time switching from one activity to another.

2. Resources

How will training without training materials be? Resources are at the core of the training plan, and the trainers must provide them before the training day. Training resources include; electrical and electronic equipment, furniture, writing materials, special attires, practical equipment, and assessment materials.

3. Health and safety

We cannot assume everything will be well throughout the training process. Incidents have no fixed time and place for happening, and trainers must lay strategies for countering hazards whenever they occur.

An example is when training recruits on how to handle electric equipment. You know the electric shock and short-circuiting are real, and failing to provide safety measures can lead to accidents and even death. The training plan indicates that trainers and trainees must be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and emergency measures before the training.

4. Duty selection

The plan indicates who does what and when it should be done. Duties are delegated to trainees, and the trainers are informed who to expect on all training sessions. When delegating tasks, division of labor and specialization are used. It is viable because a particular trainer can master the processes of a specific session.

5. Assessment

Training without assessment is null and void because the competency of the trainees is unknown. Assessment evaluates whether the trainees achieved what was intended for them to know. If the majority perform poorly, the training is recalled, but the training is considered effective when the majority are average. An assessment measures the success of the training plan.

6. Certification

An effective training plan describes the procedures for the certification of learners. A certificate acts as an official testimonial for competency.

What does an effective training plan entail?

1. Identification of training needs

It is the company's interest to carry out employee training analysis to determine and create awareness about the importance of the training. The analysis helps in setting training goals that align with the company's mission and vision.

2. Alignment of training to the company's goals

The training plan helps in strategizing the employee training plan to achieve the set goals. As usual, training is provided to achieve a particular production strategy or service delivery, so it should be administered towards achieving the goals.

3. Top management consultation

An effective training program has input from the top management. If you need the training to be state-of-the-art, knowledge and wisdom from the leadership must be borrowed and incorporated into the plan.

4. Access to resources

Training can be delivered using in-house resources or outsourced to a third party. In-house training is cheaper than outsourced training because the budget is incorporated in the financial year. Resources include; video-conferencing tools, webinars, writing materials, etc.

5. Development of an employee training program

A training plan that adds value to the employees and organization is considered to be effective. The training program combines the processes and procedures, training tools, resources, and adherence to health and safety measures.

6. Evaluation and improvement

The training is evaluated at the end of the session to measure the impact of the training on the company's goals. Areas that underperform are recalled for training and improvement.

Training and onboarding employees are critical strategies for improving production and service delivery. It should be a requirement for every company that is planning for the long run. At the end of the training, assessment is a must to evaluate the competency of the plan.

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