Some managers ignore the long-lasting nature of skills acquired through training; they give employees no alternative skills which can be used beyond their current jobs, unless if those employees get selected for new positions. Needless to say, the business industry is all about that – business. Profit margins and the competitive industry give no legit opportunity to employees who demand better conditions of training. What is the main purpose of training employees if the training is meant to develop a person to a limited extent? Whatever happened to the theory we learnt in our post graduate classes; were we not taught to enter the business world and develop ‘the whole person’? In most cases, I was told that the real business is different from theory.

 

Who changed the rules? My first guess would be ‘the uneducated’. It is the people who are trained only to a certain (limited) extent that change the rules of the business and unfortunately not only does our academic structure gets manipulated but many employees are left behind in need of legit training. A businessman would argue that it is better to invest so little in an employee, to avoid investing too much in people who may, at some point, leave the firm for better opportunities. However, a smart businessman whose acumen is a little bit above average and whose main concern is to reap bigger profits through calculated investment methods would train a man to the extent that he would dedicate all his life to the firm. Of course not all managers or businessmen are equipped enough to give challenging trainings to employees. It is only the elite who are able to train employees to the point of total sway.

 

By emphasising their right to train and develop, managers can equip employees to the extent that they would be able to transfer their skills from an informal sector to an informal sector without too much hustle. One would ask, “at whose cost?”; it is important to note that businesses do not like to operate beyond their means, that is, to the level that they help the community develop into a better one. Most importantly, we need to be reminded of the threat that employees impose to the growth of the business; no business would like to train a potential competitor, right?

 

Whatever happened to the adverts that our communities see on televisions, hear from radio and read from the print media all the time? Whatever happened to the promise of ‘social responsibility’? Statistically, for every training effort that a human being gets, his life is changed forever and for the better. In addition, this change is not only for himself but for his family, the government and, eventually, the whole country. On the other extreme end, why should firms care about such a long and expensive tactic used by above average businessmen who believe that one has to spend money to make profits to obtain wealth? As already mentioned, business is business – the less money spent the better