It is common knowledge that the construction industry is experiencing labor shortage issues. Unfortunately, this issue has been ongoing for ages. Many construction business owners need help finding the best and most skilled laborers. They have tested many ways to fill open positions, and one that works best is offering apprenticeships and OJT training.
OJT training is called learning by doing, hands-on learning, apprenticeship, job mentoring, etc. It is the type of training and skill enhancement solution that is so simple yet often overlooked by most industries. And knowing the construction sector has been facing labor shortages, business leaders can no longer afford to deal with these issues. Hence, turning to on-the-job training is one of the solutions.
If you have plans to offer OJT programs, this blog is for you.
What is On-The-Job Training?
OJT, for short, On the Job training, is a way for employees to learn more about work-related processes by observing and performing job tasks onsite. This type of training focuses more on integrating laborers into their daily working environment. While most of the participants of this training are often new hires for open job role positions, this method can also be implemented as part of a professional internship program or internal job rotation.
OJT programs are important, especially when you are about to hire new people for new job positions. Not only can this training help you prepare top talents, but it also helps you meet your company’s needs, and it also positions your people for better, greater career opportunities.
Discover its multiple benefits in the next section.
The Many Benefits of OJT Programs
On-the-Job Training offers so many benefits for your new hires and to your organization as a whole. Take a closer look at some of the top benefits of implementing on-the-job training.
- Provide a personalized learning experience: New hires can easily learn how to perform tasks most efficiently. This is particularly useful for your large and complex construction projects. In addition, a more personalized learning experience for your employees can help address weaknesses, learn the right skill set, better understand your company’s values, and become more and more productive.
- Cost-efficiency: Training is generally conducted by experienced project managers onsite. Since it eliminates the need to hire third-party trainers to host training sessions, you don’t need to pay additional expenses for this type of training. You have to pick the best construction manager you have in your organization and allow him to lead the training.
- Develop a strong talent pipeline: This training will allow your experienced construction workers to mentor new hires within a structured method/framework. This can help you prepare high-collaborating and high-performing crew members for future advancement.
- Minimize turnover: Your people are the essential asset of your business. Attracting, hiring, and retaining top talents is known to be very difficult due to competition. With OJT training, you can show your new hires and employees that you are deeply serious about creating long-term career opportunities for them.
How to Improve OJT Training?
If you decide to focus on your training programs and how to improve them, ensure you know where to start. Here are some of the best ways to get started:
1. Assess your training needs
You have to begin with the end in mind and ask the following questions first:
- What are your company goals for the training program overall?
- Which job positions would benefit the most from OJT training?
- What are the knowledge, qualifications, and skillset needed for the job roles?
- What knowledge and competencies must new hires possess?
- Is it necessary to have additional skills to teach the new hires?
Once you finally have answers to the questions above, you can identify now your most pressing training needs.
2. Select the right method of training
It is now the time to match the training tasks with the right training method. Below are some of the most common training techniques you may consider integrating during OJT programs.
- Coaching or mentorship: The trainees or new hires will work directly under the supervision of the construction manager or project leader. The managers are expected to monitor the trainees and provide constructive feedback.
- Internships: These focus more on the theoretical and practical parts of the job role and are usually present for observation purposes.
- The buddy system: This strategy aims to pair the trainee with one of your crew members. The buddy systems allow the trainees to observe how tasks are usually executed onsite or in real-world settings.
- Job shadowing: Shadowing is when the new hire gets alongside one of your experienced coworkers during the training period. This allows the new hire to see how your crew structures their day and performs regular construction tasks. The new hire does not participate in tasks; instead, they aim to listen and learn.
- Job rotation or stretch assignments: You can add the new hires from previous positions or one area of the job for a certain period. There will be mentors to guide them, of course.
- eLearning: Today’s latest technologies allow construction companies to train new hires online. eLearning should be concise and have focused training modules that can easily be integrated into your OJT training programs. One of the best software solutions accessible today focuses on construction workforce management. And it’s very beneficial once it is implemented during training periods. You won’t have to worry about tracking your new hires and assigned mentors for OJTs, and lastly, there is the more active participation of the trainees because communication is seamless.
3. Invest in the latest software solutions
A comprehensive OJT training program you are about to set up and improve requires a wide range of resources. The list includes more people, software solutions, well-planned strategies, etc. Take the time to determine the resources you need to implement your job training strategy. You must pay attention to this part of the process to gain all the details you need to improve your OJT training.
The implementation of construction technologies today has become prevalent. And you want to take advantage of the opportunity of leveraging it. The most critical support tool you should adopt now that can help you achieve training success is Pro Crew Schedule.
Pro Crew Schedule is useful in so many ways, especially if you are to provide training for new employees. This cloud-based construction crew scheduling software has a top-tier crew tracking feature that allows you to monitor everyone’s performance seamlessly, anytime and anywhere. It will be easier for you to monitor new hires in one single click and get training updates.
4. Identify and prepare your people
Make sure to align your construction team and the new hires for the upcoming OJT training. Ensure the mentors you assign fully know that OJT is a serious, deliberate, and systematic process and that they must give their best to mentor the trainees accordingly.
Everyone involved should have access to training materials, software tools like construction task management solutions, and other available resources you provide for the training. This ensures that everyone understands how the training should be conducted and their important role.
Confirm with your construction team and mentors if they are ready. Once they are ready, you can now launch your OJT training program.
5. Assess the results and continue to improve
Let’s say you just launched your OJT training. The first thing you have to do after the initial launch period is to review the results. You have to monitor the learning ways and performance-based outcomes of your trainees. For OJT training, long-term evaluations usually last for six months. The assessment will indicate how well your new hires retain everything they learned during the training period.
Tracking Construction OJT Programs with Pro Crew Schedule
The perks of OJT are limitless. A well-designed training program showcases your company’s commitment to learning and teaching, helping you to attract and retain today’s top talents.
You know how comprehensive training programs can be, and we already mentioned the importance of investing in the best construction techniques to make your training a success.
Start deploying Pro Crew Schedule – your all-in-one construction management software.
Pro Crew Schedule is different from your typical software. Unlike so many others in the market, it is the only solution with combined construction inventory management and scheduling features. And whether you will be tracking new hires, supervising your construction team, or monitoring the entire training, this will be your ultimate go-to software tool.
If you are wondering what our software offers, here are its top features you should not miss:
- Inventory
- Time tracker
- Scheduling
- Crew leader access
- Task management
- Document management
- Software views
- Unified search
- Employee-based scheduling
- Construction crew tracking
- Time off requests
- Task views
Get started with Pro Crew Schedule and discover how useful it is in your training.
