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Business · Making human resource decisions
Training
Training gives staff the skills to do their jobs well. It starts with induction and continues through on-the-job and off-the-job training, self-learning, target setting and performance reviews.
Teacher resources
The teacher copies: slides with the questions built in, the answers, and anything else attached to this lesson for whoever is teaching it.
- Training - Teacher Slides.pptx Teacher The lesson slides with the teacher's notes on each slide, and every question and mark scheme built in. Built from the lesson script on 28 September 2026. View
- Training - Teacher Notes.docx Teacher The complete notes with the teacher's notes and every model answer in full. Built from the lesson script on 28 September 2026. View
Student handouts
The same files the students see, to print or hand out.
Last Lesson
Answer from memory before the answers appear.
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What is a job description?
A document describing the job's tasks, responsibilities and conditions.
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What is a person specification?
A document describing the ideal person for the job.
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Give one benefit of internal recruitment.
Cheaper, quicker, known ability or motivating.
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Give one benefit of external recruitment.
New ideas, new skills and a wider choice.
Learning Objectives
- 1Explain induction training.
- 2Explain on-the-job and off-the-job training.
- 3Explain formal and informal training, self-learning and ongoing training.
- 4Explain target setting and performance reviews.
- 5Explain why businesses train their staff.
Induction Training
Induction training introduces new employees to the business when they start.
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What it covers
The business's aims, the building and facilities, health and safety, key people and the rules and procedures.
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Why it matters
New staff settle in faster, feel welcome and become productive sooner.
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Safety
It makes sure new staff know how to work safely from day one.
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Retention
Staff who are welcomed properly are less likely to leave in their first months.
On-the-job or Off-the-job Training?
On-the-job training
- Learning while doing the job, at the workplace.
- Watching and copying an experienced colleague, or being coached.
- Cheap: no course fees or travel.
- Staff keep working and producing while they learn.
- But: only as good as the person teaching, who may pass on bad habits.
Off-the-job training
- Learning away from the workplace - at a college, training centre or on a course.
- Taught by specialists, often leading to qualifications.
- Staff can focus without the distractions of work.
- But: expensive, and staff are not working while they train.
- Qualified staff may leave for better-paid jobs.
Two Ways to Learn
At work, or away from it.
On-the-job: learning by doing, alongside an expert.
Off-the-job: a course away from the workplace.
Other Types of Training and Development
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Formal training
Planned, structured training, such as a course or programme with set content.
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Informal training
Learning as you go, picking up skills from colleagues without a set programme.
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Self-learning
Staff learn on their own - online courses, videos and reading - often at their own pace.
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Ongoing training
Regular training throughout an employee's career, to keep skills up to date as technology and the job change.
Target Setting and Performance Reviews
Businesses help staff improve by setting goals and reviewing progress.
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Target setting
Agreeing clear, measurable targets for each employee, linked to the business's objectives.
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Performance reviews
Regular meetings between an employee and their manager to discuss progress against targets.
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Identifying training needs
Reviews show where an employee needs more training or support.
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Motivation
Staff who know what is expected, and are recognised for achieving it, are more motivated.
Why Train Staff?
Training costs money, but the benefits are large.
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Productivity
Skilled staff work faster and make fewer mistakes.
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Quality and service
Better-trained staff produce better products and serve customers better.
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Motivation and retention
Staff who are invested in feel valued and are less likely to leave, cutting recruitment costs.
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Keeping up
Training helps staff use new technology and adapt to change.
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The risk
Well-trained staff may be poached by competitors.
Case study
McDonald's: Hamburger University
McDonald's opened its first "Hamburger University" training centre in the USA in 1961 to train managers in how to run its restaurants. Today McDonald's trains hundreds of thousands of staff worldwide. In the UK it offers apprenticeships and qualifications to its restaurant staff, combining on-the-job training in the restaurant with structured learning towards a recognised qualification. Consistent training means a customer gets the same service and food in every restaurant - and staff can build a career, from crew member to restaurant manager.
Plan the Training
A hotel is taking on 10 new receptionists and upgrading its booking software for all staff. Plan the training: what induction the new receptionists need, whether the software training should be on-the-job or off-the-job, and how the hotel will check the training has worked.
1. Plan the induction.
2. Choose on-the-job or off-the-job for the software.
3. Explain how you will check it worked.
A good answer shows: An induction covering safety, systems and the hotel's standards; a justified choice of on- or off-the-job training for the software; and a check such as performance reviews or targets.
Can I...?
- 1Explain induction training.
- 2Explain on-the-job training.
- 3Explain off-the-job training.
- 4Compare on-the-job and off-the-job training.
- 5Explain formal and informal training.
- 6Explain self-learning and ongoing training.
- 7Explain target setting and performance reviews.
- 8Explain why businesses train staff.
Summary & Exam Focus
- Induction training welcomes new staff and teaches safety and procedures.
- On-the-job training is cheap and practical; off-the-job training is specialist but costly.
- Formal, informal, self-learning and ongoing training keep skills up to date.
- Target setting and performance reviews guide development and show training needs.
Exam focus
Explain one benefit to a business of off-the-job training. (3 marks) (3 marks)
Balance the cost of training against its benefits: productivity, quality, motivation and retention.
Key terms
The vocabulary this lesson expects you to use. Each one is linked from the first place it appears above.
- Induction training
- Training that introduces new employees to the business.
- On-the-job training
- Training while doing the job at the workplace.
- Off-the-job training
- Training away from the workplace.
- Formal training
- Planned, structured training with set content.
- Informal training
- Learning skills from colleagues without a set programme.
- Self-learning
- Staff learning on their own, at their own pace.
- Performance review
- A meeting to discuss an employee's progress against their targets.
Questions and answers
7 questions set on this lesson, with the mark schemes and model answers open.
Define the term 'induction training'.
Mark scheme — 1 mark available
- Training for new staff when they join — 1 mark
Model answer
Training that introduces new employees to the business, its procedures and their job when they start.
Outline one disadvantage of on-the-job training.
Mark scheme — 2 marks available
- A disadvantage identified, e.g. bad habits / distracts the trainer / limited to what colleagues know — 1 mark
- Developed — 1 mark
Model answer
The trainee learns only from the colleague training them (1), so they may pick up that person's bad habits or mistakes (1).
Explain one benefit to a business of off-the-job training.
Mark scheme — 3 marks available
- A benefit identified, e.g. specialist teaching / qualifications / no workplace distractions — 1 mark
- First linked point of explanation — 1 mark
- Second linked point of explanation — 1 mark
Model answer
Staff are taught by specialist trainers (1). They learn up-to-date skills and may gain recognised qualifications (1). This means they can do their jobs to a higher standard, improving productivity and the quality of the business's work (1).
Source: Swift Couriers Ltd employs 200 delivery drivers. It has high staff turnover: many new drivers leave within their first three months, and customer complaints about missed deliveries are rising. New drivers currently receive no training and start work on their first day. Analyse the benefits to Swift Couriers Ltd of introducing induction training for new drivers.
Mark scheme — 6 marks available
- AO2 (Application, 3 marks): uses the context - 200 drivers, leaving within three months, missed deliveries, no training — Level 1-3
- AO3a (Analysis, 3 marks): chains of reasoning about quality of service and staff retention — Level 1-3
Model answer
Induction training would help new drivers understand Swift's delivery systems, routes and customer service standards before they start. They would make fewer mistakes, which should reduce missed deliveries and customer complaints, protecting Swift's reputation. Induction would also help drivers feel welcome and supported from their first day. Staff who are thrown in without support often feel stressed and leave, so better induction should reduce the number of drivers leaving in their first three months. This means Swift would spend less money recruiting replacement drivers, lowering its costs.
Training that introduces new staff to the business is called:
Why: Induction training welcomes new staff and introduces them to the business.
A trainee learns by watching and copying an experienced colleague at work. This is:
Why: Learning while doing the job at the workplace is on-the-job training.
What is the main purpose of a performance review?
Why: A review discusses progress against targets and identifies training needs.