By: Gage Ekstrom
Training is defined as a, “process whereby people acquire abilities to perform jobs” (Week 6 – Outline – Training and Development). I have been in many trainings throughout my life, with some being much more effective than others.
The best training that I was ever a part of was at my internship over the summer when I had to learn how to use two key software in the construction industry, HeavyBid and HeavyJob. Both of these are super dense programs with numerous tools that you can use, but I was able to navigate through them and use them effectively based on a day long training that I was able to partake in. This training did a very good job of establishing the necessary objectives behind the the training course which are:
a. What the employee is expected to do
b. Quality or level of acceptable performance
c. Replicate working conditions
d. Ensure transfer of training
(Week 6 – Outline – Training and Development)
Throughout the day I learned what all I would need to use the software for, how the work should be inputted and displayed, offered real world scenarios that I was able to practice with, and then given the opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge of the software to the instructor. It was a small and intimate training which also really helped me feel free to ask questions and further connect with the material.
On the other hand, a poor training that I have been a part of was at my very first internship freshman year when I had to sit through videos describing how to use Microsoft Project. The videos were long and dull, and provided me with no opportunity to ask for help. It did not replicate the working conditions well, and these videos had no way to ensure that I properly learned the material.
While I understand how to use the software now, it has come from repeated use and outside people directing me on how to use it, not from those videos.
Information gathered from: Oregon State University’s MGMT 453 – Mike Cieri, 2025
