Future-Proof Your Talent with Training

In the exceedingly people-dependent construction industry, well-trained professionals are essential for success. Hiring skilled employees helps reduce rework and overspending and improves project outcomes. With the growing need for more professionals in construction, even experienced employees should want to augment their skills to adapt to the changing landscape of the industry. And once contractors find the best people for the positions they seek to fill, they want to do what they can to keep them. 

Train to Retain Your Top Talent  

With today’s skills gap deepening, companies offering superior options for talent development have an advantage. Opportunities for training and development are one of the main reasons people choose to switch jobs. According to employee development research by ClearCompany, a leading talent management software company, 94% of employees would stay at a company if training and development was offered. Investing in training not only positively impacts an employee’s engagement, 86% of HR managers in a survey by TalentLMS and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) say it plays an important role in retaining your top talent.    

Training craft professionals has become imperative for the industry. Yet, training and retaining qualified employees remains an ongoing issue for companies. Many contractors understand the cost of turnover and the value of retaining employees, but they may not know where to start or they consider the problem too substantial to handle with the resources they have in place.  

How Training is Consumed Matters  

The value a well-trained workforce brings to contractors is significant and measurable, but how employees are trained is also important. For companies to produce better people and better teams, they need innovative approaches to onboard and upskill their employees — and a clear understanding of how employees want to learn. Research by TalentLMS and SHRM shows the most preferred way of learning for 70% of employees is online, self-paced courses.  

Online training enables employees to learn in a way that is optimized for them — at a time, pace and place of their choosing. And the expectation of employees to learn and develop their skillset without limitations is evident with more than half of employees now expecting to learn on a ‘just-in-time’ basis. Learners are open to growth and want to receive the right kind of training at the right time.  

Although some contractors may share concerns about the academic integrity of teaching hands-on construction skills through online courses, and the potential for a lack of proven curricula and quality assessment, flexible online solutions are available that provide high-quality training and validate proficiency in both performance and knowledge onsite.   

For employers, online learning models can offer flexible solutions that benefit employee productivity and positively impact organizational growth. Customized learning paths can be designed to deliver the precise training required to meet a company’s goals for talent development. Companies can access the resources they need to implement a flexible training program without the need for a formal training department. 

Shift Some of the Responsibility of Training to Employees  

For contractors, finding the time to train isn’t easy and it can become a trade-off with other priorities. Online craft training offers solutions that place more of the responsibility for learning on the employee. While companies are still responsible for providing access to training resources and establishing learning pathways, employees are empowered to take control of their own development. This shift not only fosters a culture of continuous learning, but it also relieves some of the burden on employers to monitor and administer training programs.  

The construction industry is ever evolving, with companies increasingly finding new ways to engage and retain their employees through innovative training programs. Online training platforms have proven to be highly effective in skilling and upskilling craft professionals. Employees who value training are empowered to take charge of their own professional development, while contractors can integrate flexible, customized training that not only aligns with their company’s specific needs but will also future-proof their workforce — anytime, anywhere.  

Learn how NCCER’s customizable online training solutions can help future-proof talent in the construction industry.