Training

Training

       Think of training as more practical and less academic

Apprenticeship is a form of training.  On the job training is still used.

For lack of knowing what to do, we do what we know.  Training is to our advantage in doing what we know.  How many have said or thought if they had had more time, they might have made better decisions or choices. Such can training  benefits be thought of, too. Even being blinded by love is often a complicating problem.

Our military, medical people, policemen, firefighters, scouts, and athletes all get a lot of individual training, and often group training, for examples. Practice makes perfect. And many others benefit as such, too. There are few natural recruiters and screeners, for example....most receive some kind of training.

Training about existing and new equipment is to our advantage when having to use it.

Training does often take time and money to maximize its effectiveness. But training as an apprentice, or under an older person who has experience, is often a thrifty way to get training accomplished, too. Training aids cost money, for example. Actual equipment is already in place.

Training cannot take place over night.  It does take time, often years. A little bit of training is often better than no training. How to use farm tools is a classic example.

Safety training can be both preventive and corrective.  Few know much about operating a tractor safely, for example. Or using adults to build and maintain a  fire in a sharecropper house  is another example.

Training often helps those who could benefit by using older and often seldom used  skills like bartering.

Groups often benefit from group training. Fire drills are a good example.

Acting with training and experience is usually superior to reacting without training.

Few are born trained. We have to be trained in most cases.

Training sets us up for success, not failure. Training is better than being thrown to the wolves in order to best succeed. One simple example is training in the social graces.

Certification is one way to prove training has been successfully applied.  Promotion often does something similar. Pieces of paper and symbols on clothes help the rest of us in this process.

Academics are no substitute for superior training.  A combination is often best of all in some situations. Often the difference between academics and training is blurred. Call it a grey area. A good example is learning a language or culture. Leadership training is another difficult and blurred area.

Training often allows us to "think ahead", too. One obvious trained skill is in saving a drowning person.

Start with something simple, like training children to help take care of pets, and go from there. The amount of boredom and thanklessness  can be well taught by that method. Busting ice in a barn water trough in the winter provides a typical example.

Bottom line, training is big deal at any age and place, from home to the workplace to the world. If we are "too" busy to train, our leaders are usually  making a mistake. We are best served by training our people  vice "failing" our people. Said another way, it is often not what you bring to the table, but how well can you be trained and grow?