Are You Ready to Design OJT?

Lorimer Fauntleroy is the principal of Pinnacle Performance Partners (P3), a workplace learning and development company specializing in performance-based learning solutions. In this Q&A podcast, I speak with Lorimer about the nuts and bolts of the ATD Designing and Delivering On-the-Job Training Certificate program.

Essentially, on-the-job training (OJT) puts learners in the most realistic setting possible for learning the tasks necessary for successful job performance. And research shows that structured OJT results in fewer quality errors, substantial positive financial impact on organizations, reductions in training time, and training objectives that are achieved faster and more completely.

However, for OJT to be an efficient, effective, and uniform training method, it must be structured and not simply the shadowing of a successful performer. Nor can OJT simply be giving someone a two-inch binder of policies and procedures and calling it a day.

Unfortunately, Lorimer says that on-the-job training evolves in the same way that other learning media have. Worse, a lot of what companies call OJT isn’t even training but a data dump followed by a sink-or-swim approach to learning.

Lorimer explains that ATD’s Designing and Delivering On-the-Job Training Certificate program offers a way for L&D professionals to learn a more effective method of delivering on-the-job training. For instance, the program will teach designers how to identify when on-the-job training is appropriate and what prerequisites are necessary. In addition, attendees will learning how to transform the data from a job analysis into a well-designed, structured OJT plan and materials that follow the principles of adult learning.

For more insight into OJT and how the ATD Designing and Delivering On-the-Job Training Certificate program can help, listen to the complete interview.