What is Transfer of Training?
Transfer of training refers to the systematic process of developing practical skills training for specific job responsibilities.
The primary objective of the transfer of training methodology is to ensure that employees as learners can not only understand what is taught but can also apply the concepts learned while at work.
For example, technicians at a telecommunications company may take an updated safety and compliance course, while management expects employees to apply new safety measures while performing their routine job duties.
Related: Developing a Better Workforce with Upskilling, Reskilling, and Cross-skilling
The 3 Stages of Transfer of Training
Transfer of training occurs through three primary sequential steps, where each phase builds on the previous one to ensure proper transfer.
1. Pre-Training
This stage involves designing and planning training activities that address actual work requirements and participants’ roles. Organizations consider employee needs in relation to organizational objectives while also vetting which training methods are most appropriate.
For example, the L&D team of a mining company may research how to best deliver a training course for employees on a new piece of machinery.
2. Training
During the training phase, knowledge is shared and skills are practiced through dedicated learning sessions. These can include a combination of online videos, an overview, facilitator-led workshops to explain fundamentals, and eventual face-to-face guidance with an experienced instructor.
Continuing with our previous example, developing a new upskilling course for new state-of-the-art mining equipment, training managers may schedule small group sessions with an experienced instructor.
3. Application
Application is where L&D teams observe the successful transfer of training. In this stage, employees put their new skills to use in relation to their current job responsibilities.
Management team members track how employees perform after training, using observation, daily performance metrics, and on-the-job assessments.
In our mining example, this would likely look like a field manager observing how comfortable mining staff feel about using the new equipment and how much work has improved in terms of efficiency and output.
Skills Gap & Skills Transfer
Skills gaps are the skills missing from today’s companies, whereas skills transfer is the training method applied to address them.
Every organization is racing to close its skills gaps, and for good reason.
Companies can only close skills gaps with well-trained employees, but can only succeed at that if their employees are trained to the highest standard with the right skills.
As the modern organization wants to save on operating costs as much as possible, it normally relies on eLearning to deliver the pertinent skills training it needs.
However, skills don’t develop through content alone.
The solution to closing skills gaps is to use the right skills transfer methodology.
Professionals are able to learn, adapt, and perfect the skills their companies need when knowledge and expertise move from trainer to learner.
This is where the real challenge lies in modern corporate training: making sure the right people and experiences can be provided to learners at the right time.
How the Biggest Industries are Accelerating Transfer of Training with ILT
Join Josh Bersin and Bill Pelster from Josh Bersin Co, and L&D leaders from United Airlines and GE Healthcare, as they explore how enterprises are rethinking ILT to accelerate performance.
Together, they’ll discuss:
- Why ILT is still critical in the age of AI
- How enterprises deliver consistent, high-impact training worldwide
- Which systems and strategies keep training running efficiently today – and set the foundation for high-impact performance, analytics and AI tomorrow
Strategies to Optimize Your Transfer of Training Process
- Define training objectives from the start
- Emphasize real-time application with guided practice
- Regularly measure the level of training transfer
- Provide ongoing training and learner support
Define training objectives from the start
The why of transfer of training will be the primary metric in defining your skills program’s success.
Define and communicate specific learning objectives that connect directly to your organization’s needs as well as those of your employees.
For example, present a case study as to why it’s important to train new and current employees on using a new piece of equipment, the benefits that the training provides in the short and long term, and exactly what resources you need to initiate it.
Emphasize Real-time application with guided practice
Being terrible at a new skill is the first step to being a master of it.
Handing off skills isn’t like online training, where after the lesson is completed, the learner is magically a master at it.
Learners need the guidance and support of knowledgeable, qualified, and empathetic instructors to guide them through the best methods of applying a specific skill and what to do when they come across key scenarios in the workplace.
Demonstration of the skill is just one small part; however, applying, evaluating, and eventually mastering it is another that needs a trainer’s time and attention to the learner.
Regularly measure the level of training transfer
Measuring the success of transfer of training relies on gauging how well learners (the employees) retain and apply the skills they’ve been trained on.
Using a combination of observation, performance, and business output, training managers can develop an understanding of how well training has progressed.
Quality of skills transfer can be measured in five distinct stages:
- Intention to transfer: learners are prepared to learn new skills for the job
- Initiation: learners make their first attempts to apply the skills they learned
- Partial transfer: learners use new skills learned sparingly, as they may lack confidence or feel unsure
- Conscious maintenance: learners make an effort to regularly and deliberately apply new skills
- Unconscious maintenance: new skills are now embedded in the normal job functions and are now “second nature” to the employee
Provide ongoing training and learner support
Even for experienced employees, it’s normal to feel imposter syndrome or unsure if you’re applying the skills in the best way possible.
After formal training sessions and workshops have ended within your program, always be sure to keep learning and development opportunities open to employees.
Your post-transfer of training can include:
- Provide public (or private) in-person training sessions to reskill on previously covered topics
- Develop a dedicated in-person learning resource center, such as a training academy
- Implement regular and recurring training as a quality assurance check on training
Why ILT is the Best Method for Transfer of Training
Corporate training has evolved substatially over the years. We’ve gone from debaiting whether ILT or eLearning is more effective to whether AI can replace the entire training process altogether.
However, whether your organization is seeking to develop the next leaders or refine in-demand industry talent, successful skills development that delivers results will rely on the benefits only instructor-led training can provide.
The reasoning is much simpler than you think.
Immediate feedback and in-person guidance
ILT enables trainers to observe participant performance closely, give instant feedback, and guide learners through mistakes. This approach helps employees correct errors during practice, leading to higher confidence and retention.
“But, wait. Can’t AI-powered training programs provide the same benefit?”
Not quite and not fully. Despite the excitement of using AI for skills training and all things L&D, the technology is far behind in training human learners in perfecting even the most technical skill sets. Some training professionals even argue that only ILT is more effective than AI when it comes to completing, perfecting, and applying learned skills on the job.
Clarification of training expectations
In an ILT setting, trainees discuss objectives and real job applications directly with instructors, clarifying the best ways learners can apply their new skills to their roles. Training workshops and seminars have the power to bring training to life as trainees engage with the instructors.
Instructors setting expectations and enforcing training standards throughout the course are the primary reason why F2F training programs achieve learning objectives far better than those that are purely reliant on eLearning.
Relevance through hands-on practice
With face-to-face instruction, trainers can design exercises, work simulations, and case studies specifically matched to actual work tasks. Employees practice scenarios they’ll encounter, making it easier for them to apply the new skills learning in training.
Structured and controlled transfer of skills
ILT programs incorporate action planning and post-training reflection, helping participants anticipate challenges in applying new skills. With guided planning and peer support, trainees are more likely to achieve and meet their training goals and follow through on using these skills in the workplace.
And that’s not even the complete list of benefits ILT can provide in a transfer of training initiative.
Discover the bigger benefits of instructor-led training when it comes to upskilling your team and ramping up your organization for success.
Improving Transfer of Training with a TMS
The transfer of training process can be hard to coordinate, with so many factors at play to make it successful.
For organizations serious about developing professional talent with skills training, it is no exception to implement instructor-led training as the preferred strategy.
Managing transfer of training with in-person learning requires a comprehensive training management system (TMS) to manage every aspect of your skills transfer process.
Training Orchestra’s award-winning training management platform provides all the tools needed to maximize your transfer of training process, including planning, delivery, application, and maintenance.
Schedule F2F training sessions
With the training scheduling system, training managers can quickly schedule sessions for a multitude of skills programs. Quick comparison of schedules, calendars, and resource availability lets you assign instructors to on-site or virtual sessions in seconds.
Real-time performance monitoring
Monitor the progress of your transfer of training initiative from start to finish. Whether you’re measuring delivery metrics for sessions completed or ensuring your training budget is delivering maximum training ROI.
Training resource support and planning
Centralized access to key training resources to keep your operation going. Integrated action plan templates and session scheduling tools keep training managers engaged in delivering the most for continuous learning and development.
And that’s just the start.
With Training Orchestra, training departments and organizations now have the complete suite of tools to manage an efficient and effective training operation to empower businesses with the most in-demand skills.
The Best Skills Transfer Platform for Corporate Training
It’s clear that the best way to transfer skills to employees is through guided, in-person training.
But how can training departments manage the transfer of training process using ILT at scale?
Consistently ranked as the best training scheduling software for ILT strategy and management, Training Orchestra delivers efficiency and effectiveness for all forms of in-person learning, whether you provide ILT on-site or virtually online.
What are you waiting for?
