Many companies require periodic employee training. My personal experience has shown me that most people have little patience for required classes. I like to think of it as furthering my education on the company’s dime. I’m open to learning something new. That’s the purpose of training – to teach you something new or to update you on what you already do.
Some classes are job specific while others are safety-related. I have both kinds in my profession. I’m required to complete safety-related training and testing for my agency during my anniversary month every year. I’m required to attend program specific training at the state level for my department every fall.
I recently completed my agency training for the year. I was trained and tested on Bloodborne Pathogens and Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls. The two web classes took me about an hour to complete, and the tests only took a few minutes each. While these don’t sound like your typical job training topics, they both have merit.
I once had a boss who suffered from a blind spot in her vision. We had a file cabinet located along the wall just outside her office. One of my coworkers had been searching for a file in that file cabinet, which was five feet tall and three feet wide. She found the file she needed and left the top drawer open because she just needed the file for a couple of minutes. My boss rounded the corner out of her office and walked right into the open file drawer. She hit it hard enough that it knocked her down. She had a bruise on her forehead, but was otherwise all right. It sure did scare us, though.
The Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls training that I just completed brings safety issues such as open file drawers to our attention. No one in the aforementioned office thought a thing about leaving that top file drawer open for a few minutes. We never dreamed our beloved boss would nearly be knocked out by such a thing.
We’ve been taking Bloodborne Pathogens training and tests at my agency since well before I started working for them nearly a decade ago. The agency requires we take it because they want us to know what to do if someone is injured and bodily fluids are spilled. Since my coworkers use power tools, it’s valid training for us. The agency requires Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls training and testing because there are many potential safety hazards that most people don’t naturally consider.
No matter how silly the training may seem, companies have reasons for paying for such things. If my employer wants me to be trained in a certain area, why would I refuse more education? I might learn something valuable. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.
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