A Historical Background on Training and Development

http://inhisnamehr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Training-and-Development.jpg

The famous fifth-century BC Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu once wrote, "If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. But if you let me experience, I will learn" (Chinese, 2010, ¶1).  The idea of training and development (T&D) is nothing new to the twenty-first century, but has rather evolved since the earliest stages of human civilization and has been gradually refined into the sophisticated process that it is today.  The following will present an overview of the different styles of T&D that have been implemented throughout history:

• Apprenticeships (400s-1400s)- With its origins rooted in the Code of Hammurabi, the law that governed ancient Egypt (2000 B.C.), apprenticeships were one of the first types of training practices that became widely used, especially during the Middle Ages.  As trades in the area of craftsmanship became more demanding, most children of the time were sent as apprentices to live with masters of this form of art who would share with them the knowledge and teach them the skills they needed to succeed in this line of work.

• Vestibule Training (1800s)- During the Industrial Revolution, intensive training became a necessity for all employees who were working in factories, but did not have all the required knowledge and skills to be able to work with the machinery that produced the goods and materials needed by the society.  In this setting, vestibule training, understood as "near-the-job-training," became an activity that was carried out within the factory, but in a special separated room that was big enough to store machines with up to ten workers and their trainer (Vestibule Training, 2010, ¶ 1).

• Role Playing (1930s)- First devised by psychiatrist Dr. Jacob Moreno in the 1910s, role playing became a new method used for training employees by placing them in the kind of situation they could encounter in the workplace, but in a controlled environment that did not pose any risks to their lives.  Role playing gave the employee the opportunity to physically interact and correctly apply the needed skills to the particular situation (Role Playing, 2010).

• Job-Instruction-Training (1940s)- Popularized during the years of World War II, job-instruction-training was specifically designed for "supervisors in defense plants" to obtain the necessary skills to then be able to train their own workers in various areas (Job Instruction, 2010).

• Computer-Based Training (1980s)- Initially created in 1959 under a system known as PLATO, computer-based training (CBT) began to receive more attention during the late twentieth century.  As technology quickly advanced and modernized, CBT povided individuals with greater flexibility and interaction as they acquired more knowledge and newer skills through online channels. 

While the methods for carrying out T&D have immensely progressed, the T&D techniques discussed here can be and are still used by organizations throughout the public sector, especially that of Web-Based Learning, also discussed by Berman et al. (2013), given the popularity and advantages this method generates.  Originally created for the Australian Flexible Learning Framework's 2011 Industry E-learning Showcase and Exhibition, the following video presents and discusses the many benefits of a well implemented E-learning program for training purposes in the workplace which can include:

1. "Increase in knowledge"
2. "Online access to training material"
3. "Long-term reduction in overtime and cost of training"
4. "Quality and consistency of training"
5. "Ability to train long distance"
6. "Increase staff retention"

Moreover, it highlights that with E-learning, training solutions are:

"Efficient

Cost-effective

Flexible

Accessible

Practical

Interactive

On the Job

Customized

Just in Time

Cutting Edge"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrTRy3ruRbk

In the article Acceptance of competency-based workplace e-learning systems: Effects of individual and peer learning support, Cheng et al. (2011, p. 1331) describe the study they conducted on employee acceptance levels of E-learning systems used for workplace training and find that there is a positive relation between an employee's "perceived usefulness" of these training methods and his "intention to use the e-learning system."  Therefore, as more organizations implement web-based learning modules for training their employees, they can be assured that the preference and acceptance for this type of training system can result in positive outcomes for both the employee and the overall organization.

If you wish to learn more about the types of T&D that have emerged throughout history, be sure to check out http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/history2.html for more information.

References

Apprenticeship.  (2010, September 11).  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from 
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/apprenticeship.html.

Berman, E., Bowman, J., West, J., & Van Wart, M.  (2013).  Human Resources Management in Public Service: Paradoxes, Processes, and Problems.  Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. 4th Ed.

Cheng, B., Kinshuk, Peng, J., Wang, M., & Yang, S.  (2011, August).  Acceptance of competency-based workplace e-learning systems: Effects of individual and peer learning support.  Computers & Education.  Science Direct - EZ Proxy FIU.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fiu.edu/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.01.018.

Chinese Philosophy.  (2010, September 11).  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from 
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/chinese.html.

Computer-Based Training.  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/cbt.html.

Job Instruction Training.  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/jit.html.

Role Playing.  (2010, September 11).  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/roleplay.html.

Vestibule Training.  (2010, September 11).  Big Dog and Little Dog's Juxtaposition of Performance, Learning, Leadership, and Knowledge.  Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/vestibule.html.