Manufacturing training is an essential part of any manufacturing industry. According to a Deloitte (2015) study, 4.6 million manufacturing jobs will be needed in the coming decade, but out of that 2.4 million jobs are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap present now. USD 454 billion might be the cost of a lack of qualified talent on the manufacturing GDP in 2028. Between now and 2028, a persistent shortage of skills will cause USD 2.5 trillion in reduced output.
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This indicates how Manufacturing is an important part of any growing industry. With a looming dearth of skilled workforce in the horizon, manufacturing training is the need of the hour. Manufacturing training involves teaching your existing workforce new skills that will help propel the organization forward and will also enable the employees to move their careers forward. Manufacturing training helps increase productivity and profits at the same time with only a small initial cost. Microlearning courses can be used for manufacturing training programs amongst your existing workforce without much hassle. Read on to find out more.
Training in the Manufacturing Industry using microlearning
Microlearning might be the best tool in your arsenal for training and development in manufacturing industry. Microlearning delivers knowledge packed as relatively small learning units or in the form of short-term learning activities with precise learning outcomes.
For learning more about microlearning check out our article here.
In the manufacturing industry, the well-being of your employees depends entirely on how effective the training given to them was. Manufacturing jobs are most often quite dangerous and physically taxing. In that kind of atmosphere, safety and compliance training are of at most importance. That can range from awareness about protective equipment to handling heavy machinery and dangerous chemicals.
With the introduction of automated machines in most manufacturing plants, it has become a lot easier for the workers. It is much safer and faster. Robots are now doing most of the dangerous jobs done by humans earlier. But even then, a skilled workforce is required to function a computer-aided manufacturing process properly. And nowadays, a skilled workforce is very hard to find since most educated youngsters are reluctant to work in the manufacturing industry. So companies are forced to make do with unskilled workers most of the time. Therefore upskilling your existing workforce is becoming more and more important, and it has to be done quickly and efficiently. This is where microlearning comes in.
Microlearning can be used for training and development in the manufacturing industry. It can be used either as your primary training delivery method or as an excellent knowledge aid.
1. It is an ideal training tool
Knowledge retention among workers in the manufacturing industry is extremely low. They can’t be expected to remember everything that they have been taught. But any slip-ups they make could have massive repercussions legally or in the form of damages to property or lives. Microlearning is helpful in these types of situations. Microlearning courses are designed to be short, usually lasting from 3-10 minutes, and can easily be delivered to mobile devices. This way, the workers will have reference materials on hand all the time. The course could be in the form of an infographic, a short animated video, or a presentation. That will help them far better than conventional courses ever could. There are lots of services out there that provide training and development in the manufacturing industry. Learning Everest is one of the best amongst them, specializing in creating eLearning Courses using various Rapid Authoring Tools like Articulate Storyline 360, 3, 2, Adobe Captivate, etc.
2. The results are guaranteed immediately
You can’t drag on the training courses forever in manufacturing plant training. You may be under time constraints and might be interested in getting the training over as soon as possible. This is where microlearning comes in handy. Microlearning courses are short, concise, and easily deliverable in small bundles. It works fast and can be used to create short courses that focus on a specific subject. You are sure to finish the course earlier and get immediate results.
3. Knowledge Retention gets a boost
Knowledge retention among workers in the manufacturing industry is bound to be low. They mostly deal with manual labor and cannot be expected to remember everything word for word from their training. A short, engaging 10-minute course will be better than a dragged-out four-hour-long instructor-led session both in terms of retention of the things taught and the money used to produce the course. They can process this information a lot better too. That is why retention rates are high when taught using microlearning techniques. This is especially used in training and development in the manufacturing industry. Your employees can also go and revisit those courses anytime they want for a quick and easy refresh. That won’t be possible when using conventional modes of teaching.
4. It is much more engaging
Microlearning courses provide you with great flexibility on how to present your courses. You could create a video be it animated or normal, your choice. Want a gamified app? It can be done. Quizzes, infographics, and games anything you think of can be done. These courses will come as a welcome change to the workers who are normally accustomed to long, dragged out boring sessions. Microlearning courses are much more engaging and fun. For example, you could create an animated video to demonstrate the working of a new piece of equipment. You could also create quizzes on the topics and create a leaderboard for your employees to create a bit of friendly competition. These are some ways in which microlearning can boost the engagement of the learners with the course.
5. Doesn’t take much time and money to develop
Developing a manufacturing training program including onboarding, IT security, anti-harassment policies, etc is a costly affair. When extensive compliance training, technical skills training, health and safety training, and other industry-specific regulations are added, it becomes even more expensive. And the time taken to develop these courses will also be massive. Manufacturing training programs made using Microlearning techniques will help drastically reduce the time and money that you have to spend on developing a new course. Since Microlearning courses are short, even updating them won’t be a hassle.
6. It is much more Flexible
Earlier Manufacturing training programs were not built to be flexible. Most of those programs were hour-long sessions designed for classroom teaching purposes. Using microlearning for training and development in manufacturing industry ensures that the courses are available to the learners at all times. That makes it much more flexible. The learners can access it anytime when they need a quick refresh using their mobile phones.
7. It is accessible to anybody regardless of their age
Considering the age gap existing between the workers, the content should be simple and easy to access. A manufacturing training program created using microlearning can be delivered on any platform ranging from PCs to mobile phones. This makes it easier for everyone to get access to the course whether they are young or old. Microlearning content is also simple and easy to navigate, making it much more accessible.
How to create a manufacturing training program
There are 6 steps to create a manufacturing training program that works as shown in the image below.
1. Design: You have to plan this out beforehand. That should include your intended customer base, where are you going to deliver, etc.
2. Develop: Developing the software is the most important part. You should tailor-make this for your intended audience to get the best results. Also, make sure your sources are credible.
3. Deliver: You should keep in mind that manufacturing training should match the learning needs of your employees.
4. Evaluate: You should evaluate whether your program was effective or not. That may help you in the future when you improve upon the old version.
5. Document: You should always document your manufacturing training, especially for legal reasons. Furthermore, it can be later analyzed to learn more about what makes Manufacturing training effective.
6. Continuous Improvement: You should always strive to make the program better. Remember, it is a never-ending cycle.
Conclusion
Microlearning techniques are used almost everywhere now. From learning apps to YouTube videos it has swept the world with its effectiveness. It is built to deliver results with the least amount of time and money put into it. And it can deliver results where conventional methods of teaching have failed. Microlearning can be effectively used in the manufacturing industry too. Especially as manufacturing training programs. Microlearning might be the way forward in the e-Learning industry.