On-the-job Examples

Use on-the-job examples from your own workplace in the course curriculum and content to keep the learning relevant to your employees and ensure that it is really applicable at work.

You can use examples of work taken from jobs in your own organization or highlight examples of work taken from other companies that do work in the same sector.  By examining jobs and tasks in similar companies, your employees may learn more about their own jobs and even gain new ideas for work processes.

The Center for Workforce Preparation (CWP), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, provides tools, models and best practices in workforce development.  The CWP helps state and local chambers better engage in workforce development.
    URL: http://www.uschamber.com/CWP

Watch the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's ChamberCasts and with the help of an expert panel and featured chambers, learn how to: identify effective and appropriate training initiatives; explore innovative strategies that work across regional and local labor markets and for small businesses; and benefit from training models that have been developed by chambers of commerce and other employer intermediaries.
  URL: http:// www.uschamber.com/CWP/Projects/Workforce+Innovation+Networks/Cybercast+Series.htm 

For international ideas and best practice examples, see The Awards for Excellence in Workplace Literacy, which showcase exemplary workplace literacy programs in Canadian organizations.  Look in the Ideabooks for workplace education examples in small, medium and large businesses.
    URL: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/nbec/literacy.htm

Blue Lobster Multimedia Productions - Virtual Electrician Series is an interactive computer-based training series covering power quality issues and investigative techniques for various components of the premises wiring system. Using up-to-date information and 3D graphics, it is designed to present wiring conditions and investigations similar to those encountered in the field.
    URL: http://www.virtualelectrician.com/Free/Demo.htm

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College's Center for Business and Industry offers customized employee training to business and industry in various areas including basic skills, technical skills, and interpersonal skills.  Learning options are flexible, with two-thirds of CBI's training being delivered in the workplace.
    URL: http://www.nwtconline.com

The National Center for Construction Education and Research develops curricula, career pathways, and research for craft, management, and safety training.
     URL: http://www.nccer.org/

This article looks at how to decide which training medium to use, whether online, classroom, or blended. Employers can learn from the experiences of others and see how blended learning can save time and money.
     URL: http://www.workforce.com/section/11/article/23/18/52.html

Companies that build up internal training resources can reduce their dependency on outside consultants and this lower training costs. This article discusses combining the training and design expertise of an outside organization with internal experts prepped to teach the material.
     URL: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/31/26/index.php

Teaching employees who are subject-matter experts to be trainers can be a low-cost way to teach the rest of the organization. This article explores the issues of developing employees into trainers, including training needs and assessment, design, delivery, and evaluation.
    URL: http://www.workforce.com/archive/article/23/24/25.php

Sometimes managers resist training for their departments. This article illustrates how to work with reluctant managers and show them the benefits of offering tailored training programs to their staff.
     URL: http://www.workforce.com/archive/article/22/13/89.php

Employees can learn informally through a learning process called taxonomies - a matrix that shows how employees learn. This chart condenses the four taxonomies of informal learning by content.
    URL: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/22/16/56/223792.php

The National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) is a national information center focusing on the language and literacy education of adults and out-of-school youth learning English. NCLE  provides information on adult ESL literacy education to teachers, program directors, researchers, and policymakers.
     URL: http://www.cal.org/ncle/

Creating a training program that doesn’t alienate employees, and actually works as well, is no easy task. These training tips, including asking employees about their work-related challenges, can help employers create training programs that employees really like.  
     URL: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/23/35/28/233530.php

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office investigates the performance of apprenticeship programs. The report provides critical information for the public workforce system, community groups and pre-apprenticeship programs.
     URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05886.pdf

Basic Computer Skills Curriculum -  a downloadable, comprehensive curriculum with Word, Excel and PowerPoint activities for beginning, intermediate and advanced ESL learners. Activities start from very basic skills such as turning on the computer to higher level word processing activities. http://www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz/imsdirector.php?resid=2677&ruid=2182

English Language at Work: Work-based English for Speakers of Other Languages is a collection of informative case studies from different sectors and industries in the U.K. The booklet was produced by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
     URL: http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/esol.pdf

Programs in the Workplace: How to Increase Employer Support is a new report from the Canadian Council on Social Development. It examines approaches to workplace literacy training in Canada that have proven effective in engaging employers in workplace literacy initiatives.
     URL: http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2007/literacy

Higher-level Vocational Education and Training Qualifications is an Australian report on the relevance of qualifications to individuals and employers in several industry sectors.
     URL: http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/proj/nr06005.pdf

Noncredit college courses help to meet shifting workforce demands and address employer needs. This report identifies ways to ensure that noncredit courses meet the needs of students and employers.
     URL: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ResourceCenter/AACC
Publications/Reports1/noncredit.pdf

All Signs Point to Yes is a new Canadian report that explores the connections between workplace literacy skills and occupational health and safety results.
    Free download: report

Communicating at Work is a free web resource for immigrant adults. Interactive features, dialogues, scenarios and quizzes are designed to help adult learners improve their communication skills with supervisors, co-workers and customers.
     URL: http://aaca-boston.org/caw/

Invisible No Longer is a report that explores a wide variety of workforce development practices that address skills shortages in health care. The report focuses on emerging lessons and investment pay-offs of workforce development efforts aimed at entry-level health care workers.
     URL: http://www.jobs2careers.org/pdf/Invisible.pdf

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Last updated: November 28, 2008.