RE: New Hires

["Blaine, Karen L." <karen -dot- blaine -at- unisys -dot- com>]

Keven McLauchlan wrote:

>Could it be that a person can bring value to the job without the ability to
instantly master >tools unassisted? Could it be that there's merit in the
concept of NOT re-inventing the >wheel?... of quickly, efficiently learning
from people who have been there first and who >have plucked the arrows from
their backsides, and who specialize in filtering, gleaning, 
>and then imparting concise real-world knowledge of arcane apps?

Hear! Hear! 
Training may be costly, but is often a cost saving when you can quickly get
up and running as fast and efficiently as possible. The interaction with the
trainers and other students in a class also helps to generate new ideas
about how you can apply what you learned to your own work.

>Caveat:  I've taken dozens of courses and seminars in my working life, and
I'd estimate >that no more than two of them were ever really timely.  Either
I learned about something >that didn't come on-line until a year after I
forgot everything, or (more usually) I attended >a beginner course that
bored me to tears, four months after I'd begun using a tool -- only >so I
could qualify for the intermediate or advanced course... in which I then
learned lots of >things I'd never use...  

The timing of training is just as important as the training itself. If you
don't begin to use the tool immediately, the training ends up a waste of
time and money.