Benefits of on-the-job training

1. Cheaper: there are no course fees, no travel and no outside trainer to pay, because the teaching is done by staff already on the payroll.
2. The trainee keeps producing. Work still comes out while the learning happens, so the business does not lose a whole day or week of that employee's output.
3. Directly relevant: the employee learns on the exact machinery, systems and customers of this business, so nothing has to be adapted afterwards.
4. Flexible: training can be fitted into quiet periods and paused when the shop or the line gets busy, which suits a business too small to spare anyone for a fixed course.

Drawbacks of on-the-job training

1. The trainer stops doing their own job. An experienced employee teaching a newcomer produces less, so the business loses part of the output of two people rather than one.
2. Bad habits are passed on. The trainee copies whatever the colleague does, including shortcuts that skip checks, and those habits then spread to the next new starter.
3. Mistakes happen on real work. Errors made while learning can spoil stock, damage equipment or reach a customer, which can cost more than the training saved.
4. Narrow skills and no qualification: the employee learns only how this business already does things, so no methods from outside come in and there is usually no certificate at the end.

Benefits of off-the-job training

1. Expert tuition: a professional trainer teaches the correct and up-to-date method, so the employee is not learning one colleague's version of the job.
2. Full concentration: away from the queue, the phones and the production line, the employee can learn a whole skill in one go instead of collecting fragments between tasks.
3. Wider skills and outside ideas: learning alongside people from other businesses brings back methods this business has never tried.
4. A recognised qualification: many off-the-job courses end in a certificate, such as food hygiene, first aid or a forklift licence, and some work cannot legally be done without one.

Drawbacks of off-the-job training

1. Dearer: course fees, travel and sometimes accommodation are paid on top of the employee's normal pay, which a business short of cash may not be able to afford.
2. Nothing is produced. The employee is away for the whole session, so output is lost and colleagues either cover the work or the business pays overtime.
3. It may not fit this business. A general course teaches the standard method, which can differ from the firm's own equipment, software or procedures, so part of it is wasted.
4. The employee becomes easier to poach. A recognised qualification makes staff attractive to rivals who can offer more pay without having paid for the training.

Choosing the right method

1. The budget decides a great deal, because a small business with little spare cash usually has to train on the job, while a large business can spread course fees across many employees.
2. The skill itself can settle the choice, because anything needing certification, such as first aid, food hygiene or driving a forklift, has to be taught off the job by a qualified provider.
3. When new machinery arrives and nobody in-house knows how to use it, off-the-job training from the supplier is the only realistic choice, whatever it costs.
4. For routines unique to the firm, such as its own till or stock system, on-the-job training is more relevant than any external course could be.
5. The deciding question is usually what a mistake would cost, because where an error is dangerous or expensive the lost output of an off-the-job course is worth paying for, and where it is not, on-the-job training gives most of the benefit for a fraction of the cost.
6. Many businesses use both, sending staff on a course for the underlying knowledge and then embedding it on the job, which is often the strongest recommendation to make.