For the past two years, I have worked in Early Childhood Education. From my experiences, the majority of the trainings through this industry have been beneficial and stimulating. At the beginning of the summer this year, our childcare center closed for construction, and instead of leaving us without work, we got the opportunity to participate in trainings together. This trainings were effective, in my opinion, because they were voluntary, mixed forms of trainings, and brought about opportunity for socialization.
The training mixed a presentation format with hands-on experiences and team building activities. Participates did not feel the need to talk all the time, but felt comfortable doing so when needed. I believe the mixed form of media in trainings provides a more stimulating environment, especially when members of the team thrive in different outlets. The team building activities and open ended discussion was a great opportunity to socialize our team farther, and properly integrate the new hires. Additionally, no member of the team was forced to be there. They could get paid for coming in and socializing with the team, or they could take the couple weeks off from work. Every single member of our team showed up to these specific training meetings, and it seemed like there was always an objective for us to get to that day.
That being said, prior to working in this industry, I have experienced some ineffective training procedures. In high school, I worked in the food service industry with a much wider range of personalities and dynamics, and we would have very occasional required trainings. Sometimes the trainings would be individual and on the computer, so you would be taken away from working in order to watch videos in the back. The majority of employees just took this as an opportunity for a break and did not absorb any of the trainings.