Corporate Training vs. On-the-Job Learning: Which Delivers Better Results

When businesses spend money on learning and development, they tend to struggle with two paths: formal corporate training courses or learning through the job. Both carry unique strengths, and the best solution may depend on the organisation's strategic agenda.

In this piece, we weigh the two against each other and look at when each is more effective, particularly in the context of a well-considered Workforce Skills Plan and popular programs such as a cyber security course.

What Corporate Training Courses Offer

Corporate training courses are structured, formal programs intended to provide employees with current skills in an organised setting. Some of the key advantages:

1. Targeted Skill Gaps and Compliance

Organisations with an identified Workforce Skills Plan (WSP) are able to align corporate training courses to bridge gaps and satisfy regulatory or compliance requirements. For instance, if there is a need for cyber security skills, a specific cyber security course is much more effective at bridging that gap than relying on employees learning it while on the job.

2. Accelerated Learning & Consistency

Training classes provide an established curriculum taught by specialists; this helps all members of a team obtain the same foundational information and best practices. This helps decrease risk (particularly with technical or sensitive topics such as cybersecurity) and accelerate the implementation of new methods or tools.

3. Availability of Certifications & External Benchmarks

Most corporate training programs and the cyber security course result in recognised certifications. In highly technical areas, such as cybersecurity, certification is used as evidence of competency and as assurance to outside stakeholders that the company is secure or compliant.

4. Planned Implementation & Return on Investment

With the right planning, corporate training can be planned, budgeted, and controlled. Organisations can track outcomes (e.g., pass rates on tests, retention of skills, incident reduction) and link them back to productivity, safety, or other business results.

What On-the-Job Learning Offers

On-the-job learning (OJL) refers to learning from everyday work, coaching, self-learning, and solving actual problems as they occur. Its advantages are:

1. Experience & Contextualised in Real-World

Workers learn in their real-world workplace. This implies that when things go wrong, the learning is instantly context-specific and relevant. It develops tacit knowledge that is difficult to transfer to a classroom setting.

2. Flexibility & Just-in-Time Learning

OJL responds to the urgent needs of the company. If new threats emerge (such as an attack vector via cyber), workers can learn by responding to and fixing that problem, which is more likely to be remembered than abstract theoretical training.

3. Cost-Efficiency & Resource Utilisation

When resources for formal training are not available, OJL leverages available workflows, supervisors, or mentors. There's typically less downtime, less overhead, and less formal scheduling needed.

4. Continuous Reinforcement

On-the-job learning is reinforced by use in daily activities. When the learning is integrated into daily work, retention is generally higher, particularly for skills involved in problem-solving and coping with changes.

Conclusion

In short, corporate training courses provide formal, consistent, and quantifiable means of covering up shortages in skills and compliance, particularly in such fields as cyber security. On-the-job learning provides contextual experience, flexibility, and reinforcement through honest work.

At CTU Training Solutions, such a balance is facilitated. They provide corporate training solutions aligned with skills gap analyses, implement cyber security training courses, and help companies develop effective workforce skills plans.