Fix My Job: Advancement and Professional Development

I’m not getting trained for the skills I need.

Okay, you’ve got your job, you’re good at your job… but the job keeps changing!

Thanks to mergers, management gurus, massive layoffs, and machine-driven innovation, many workplaces go through rapid transformations, with ever-changing software, equipment and frequent revisions of policies and procedures. This makes on-the-job training more important than ever.

But too few employers offer anything of the kind. This prevents you from doing your best and advancing your career. If your organization is unwilling to prepare you for change in the workplace, it will be easier to justify letting your pay and benefits stagnate – or even to replace you with a younger, cheaper employee.

It’s not surprising that many employers are unwilling to invest in human capital: Training takes time and costs money. Funny thing, though – all that happy corporate speak about “We’re only as good as our people” turns out to true. Failure to invest in proper training and skill development has substantial negative effects  on a company’s bottom line. It can also make for an unsafe workplace – studies show that there is a correlation between training and accident prevention .

What you should do to get the skills-training you need.

1. Do it together: If you are suffering from a lack of employee development, it is likely that your colleague in the next cubicle, your co-worker on the hospital floor, or the guy or gal working the cash register next to you is suffering the same thing.  It will make your job easier (and maybe safer) if he or she gets the necessary training, too.Talk it over with your co-workers. What do all of you need to know that can help you do your jobs better, upgrade you skills, and benefit yourselves and your employer?
2. Go to the boss: Approach your supervisor as a group. Explain how better skills training will be good for the entire organization. It’s hard for even a hard-hearted (or hard-of-hearing) boss to ignore that line of reasoning, particularly if it’s coming from a bunch of you. (Also, ordinarily when you take action as a group, you’ve got more legal protection  than when you go out on your own).
3. If at first you don’t succeed: If your immediate supervisor turns you down, strategize with your co-workers about who you should talk to in the organization: your boss’ boss? The HR Department? The owner or CEO of the organization? Again, focus on how better training can help your organization better achieve its overall mission.
4. On your own? Now, here’s the flip side. If you find out all the other employees are getting skills training, and you are not, it is possible you are being discriminated against. Check Fix My Job on Discrimination .

Useful Links

Article: “The Negative Effects of a Lack of Training in the Workplace ,” Chron.com

Article: “The Effects of Lack of Employee Training ,” eHow.com