TRAINING or SOMETHING ELSE?
The word “training” often has negative associations, born of BF Skinner’s behaviorism, Ivan Pavlov’s dogs, and far too many of the unpleasant (boring) experiences people have while being “trained”.
Some companies avoid the term entirely choosing instead to ‘Develop’ or ‘Further Educate’ their personnel.
“Training” certainly has the implication of learning how to ‘Do’ something and apply the procedure, whereas “Develop” and other terms often indicate internal growth that is not immediately applied.
For those that have been in the workplace for more than a couple years, “Training” is often associated with Compliance and Orientation, rather than necessary skills that are developed on the job for the job.
Sometimes, if the learning product changes, a verbiage change certainly can help the impression within a company.
Do you prefer to use the term “Train” in your organization? If not what term do you prefer?
Do you think what we call it, can make a difference to the learners?