Brought to you by Work-Based Learning Consortium
Training is a good thing, right?

Skilled employees in the manufacturing sector who are well-trained to be fully competent in their specific skilled job show:

• Higher job performance (productivity, error reduction, quality) (15 per cent)
• Better safety outcomes
• Increased job satisfaction (72 per cent)
• Longer tenure (30 per cent)

However, 67 per cent of Canadian manufacturers report skills gaps in their workforce.  Skills gaps exist when an employer believes that workers do not possess the competencies needed to discharge their current role successfully.¹

Training would therefore be a good thing to do, right?  Research studies² show that effective training programs can achieve these benefits for manufacturing employers. But to be effective, training must:

• target industry-defined, job-specific technical skills
• be competencies-based
• cover both knowledge and practical skills, and
• include independent, valid, and reliable certification

Seven reasons why traditional “on-the-job” training is failing

The challenge for manufacturing employers is that effective training for current employees to bridge their skills gaps is not readily available in every location in Canada.  Traditional ways to “upskill” current employees “on-the-job” are not very effective:

• there’s no industry-defined job standard
• they take too long
• they are inconsistent and incomplete
• they take too much time away from production for both trainees and the experienced skilled workers (your technical trainers) who teach them
• many of your technical trainers have never learned how to train adults effectively
• they don’t include both knowledge and practical skills, and
• there’s no independent, valid, and reliable certification.

So, what’s the answer?

The Government of Canada, through the Upskill Canada program, is currently supporting Canadian-based SME employers in all regions to better address their skills needs by upskilling mid-career employees. Employers are fully supported in delivering upskilling programs to bridge their employees’ skills gaps, at no cost. Work-Based Learning Consortium (WBLC), a not-for-profit skills training development/delivery organization, has been selected to partner with Canadian manufacturing employers to deliver the proven, 12-week, part-time, CNC Machinist [Level 1] Rapid Upskilling/Reskilling program with company employees.

Currently, four Alberta precision machining companies, one in Manitoba, and 10 in Ontario are training their employees through this hybrid program – effectively, with over 90 per cent success, and at no cost. See www.workbasedlearning.ca/cncmup for details.

So, yes, employee training is a good thing, but it must be targeted, structured, and competencies-based to be effective and deliver solid business benefits to companies.

¹ Determinants of skill gaps in the workplace and recruitment difficulties in Canada, Statistics Canada, November 2022

² Impact of Training and Development Programs on Employee Performance in the Manufacturing Sector, Silvester Adi Suya Herjuna et al, Acta Psychology, 2024