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AUSTRALIAN WELDING | OCTOBER 2015
Training & Certification:
Training in an Economic Downturn In the wake of the recent global economic downturn, businesses and government bodies have come under sustained pressure to cut costs in order to survive, with implications for investment in training. Many individuals face similar pressures to cut back on nonessentials – like self-funded education and training – while others look to training to help them in an increasingly competitive labour market. According to Peter Wilson, Chairman of the Australian Human Resources Institute, “Most organisations survive tough times by the skill and work of their people, so investing in them with appropriate training is the right approach. During the GFC, smart companies didn’t slash training on a knee jerk basis, but they did change its nature, such as from strategic courses to things like selling in tough times, and sensible and lean approaches to cost management,” said Wilson.
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When tough times are over, firms with the well trained staff that they have bent over backwards to save during a recession, are usually the first to accelerate out of the downturn.
“Such companies also often secure greater market share from competitors who have been tempted by earlier slash and burn survival techniques, only to find they don’t have any one to do the work after the recovery starts,” said Wilson. Why Invest in Training During an Economic Downturn? Reduce costs: training employees so they understand how to deliver high quality welds, welded products and services, lowers overall costs and improves the experience you deliver to your customers, thereby generating revenue. Increase employee satisfaction: employee satisfaction levels are closely linked to customer satisfaction, as well as overall sales and profit. An Investment in your employees is an investment in the success of your business. Demonstrate your commitment to developing and improving your staff, and you’ll be rewarded with employee loyalty. Improve competitiveness: during global downturns, competition for customers becomes increasingly fierce, leading to a need for greater quality products and services and ability to engage customers. This can often be achieved through company-specific training and development programs.
Maintain compliance: regardless of the economic climate, there is a requirement for a minimum amount of training, due to industry-specific regulations. For instance, if you wish to maintain certification to WTIA Welding Coordinator, Supervisor, or Inspector levels, training may be a non-negotiable.
INSIDE THE INDUSTRY: TRAINING & CERTIFICATION
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During an economic downturn, you tend to find training at the top of the list for budget cuts. For many companies, it is an easy decision to make—they decide to deliver training only when it is essential, such as for induction purposes. But, what is the impact on cutting training budgets, particularly once the economy starts to gain momentum once more? Keep up with welding industry transformations: the effects of changes in public investment and consumer demand during an economic downturn often force companies to diversify in order to survive, venturing into new markets, new production methods and processes. These changes usually require either recruitment or retraining. For instance, during (and immediately following) the recession of the early 1990s, recovery in many countries was led by a shift from natural resources manufacturing to high tech manufacturing, particularly in Finland, Sweden, and Japan. This shift required huge training programs designed to retrain workers so that they could use and understand new technologies. Be ready for the upturn: whilst the current economic climate is tough, it will come to an end. When it does, the most successful companies will be those ready to take advantage of the upturn, with highly skilled and trained employees. Sources: Shamash, J. and Sims, C. (2011), Training in Economic Downturns, London: City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development.