Staff training 'worth the investment'

No matter what the costs of business training amounts to, a workforce of highly-qualified employees pays for itself over time.

This is the suggestion of blogger Michael Palmer in a post for TrainingZone, who said this is just one reason why developing the learning of workers will help drive forward company success.

He provided a number of recommendations for employers to help them manage training as effectively as possible, pointing out that in-house learning is best for companies on a budget.

This is because taking on a new member of staff who already has all the desired skills may mean they demand a higher salary. However, by hiring fast learners, firms could save themselves money and roll out training in the workplace, avoiding the problem of draining their resources on wages.

Furthermore, it is not just organisations that can benefit from workplace education strategies, as employees will also appreciate the fact they are being valued as individuals.

According to Mr Palmer, this raises morale as not only do staff feel respected and more confident in their abilities, "they can also recognise their expanded skill set may result in a better job or high salary in the future".

With higher moral comes increased productivity and the writer explained this will lead to greater profits, making an investment in training entirely worth it.

Employers must ensure they take responsibility of their training studies and stay on top of workers' progress, as this will help them to uncover any leading strengths or weaknesses.

The best way to do this could be by turning to online learning resources, as these can be accessed at any time of day and from all locations with an internet connection. 

West Yorkshire-based e-learning provider Virtual College owns a range of digital tools that companies could use to monitor training for their employees, including modules in key workplace areas like behaviour change techniques, social media for business and health and safety.