Phillip Tencer wrote:
> I'm working on a systems project at my company where we will need to help
> plant technicians learn to use new computer systems.
...snip...
> I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to build such a mentoring
> or apprenticeship process for building these area experts. Do we still
> fall back on the more classical training methods for the apprentices or is
> there another lesson there as well? Should we "apprentice" them to the
> development team as the project is being built?
>
Good questions. I'll take the bait on this one since, yes, I have done
this. The approach I have taken for providing a expert / mentor on the
floor with the workers is to beef the mentor up with a lot of formal
training that includes "training for trainers." They need to understand
their role in providing information that is easy to understand and
execute. It should also be a career development opportunity since it is a
role of responsibility and authority, even if they do not supervise
anyone.
Depending on the application being taught and used, the apprencies may be
able to learn best with one-on-one coaching to meet specific performance
goals. An overview of the application, either classroom or self study
(CBT is a possible solution) can get folks a general understanding. You
may also have several layers of training needs, with some more specific
than others. If possible, reassigning the expert / mentor to the team
s/he supports or selecting a candidate from within that team will make it
possible for the mentor to best meet the needs of the apprentices.
hope this is helpful. Write to me if you have other questions.
Vana Prewitt
vprewitt@bellsouth.net
--Vana Prewitt <vprewitt@mail.rdu.bellsouth.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>