Whether you’re joining the workforce for the first time or looking to switch careers, starting a new job can be daunting.
There is one way to make this transition easier, though. Consider a field that offers hands-on training. If the classroom isn’t for you, this is an excellent way to learn the skills you need for success.
Career opportunities with hands-on training often help workers to be more comfortable. They’re also more successful in their new endeavors. Some people simply learn better by doing, while others are empowered by real-world experience.
Here are the top seven reasons why you should consider a field where hands-on training is offered.
You’re More Likely to Retain Material
Hands-on training engages both the right and left sides of your brain, helping you forge a stronger connection with the material. This means you’re more likely to remember this information, making you more likely to succeed on the job.
Studies show that experiential training increases your retention of what you’re learning. Those who engage in active learning retain up to 75 percent of the material. Meanwhile, those who learn from lectures alone remember only 5 percent of what they’re studying.
Trainers Are on Hand to Correct Mistakes as You Make Them
Imagine you’re preparing for a new job by attending various presentations and lessons.
Then, when the training course is over, you’re thrown into the field and expected to perform. This isn’t exactly the most productive path to student success.
We’ve already established that you’re not likely to recall much through auditory learning.
Imagine if the majority of your interactions with your trainer is in the lecture hall, though. You’re less likely to discover your mistakes as you make them if they don’t help you while you’re doing the work.
Through on-the-job training, you’ll have an instructor by your side answering your questions and correcting your errors as you go.
It’s Easier to Relate What You’ve Learned to the Job
Presentations can throw a lot of information at you. Even if you take copious notes during lectures, you won’t be able to connect the dots until you’re on the job. As you hear it presented to you, it could make perfect sense, but you won’t truly understand it until you’re doing it.
Hands-on training helps relate the material you’re studying to the work you’re hired to do.
It’s one thing to read a textbook and manual about auto repair, but it looks very different when you get under the hood of a car.
Hands-on Training Programs Can Help You Land a Job
In many fields, entering an in-depth, hands-on training program is an easy way to land the job of your dreams.
Many of these programs will help place you in a variety of opportunities once you’ve completed your coursework and training. These opportunities include internships, apprenticeships, and even full-time work.
Register in a local training program to kickstart your career.
Learn from Your Mistakes
You learn just as much from what you do wrong as from what you do right.
Hands-on training lets you experiment with trial and error as you learn on the job. It also helps you better understand why certain procedures and processes work the way they do.
Makes It Easy to Assess Your Skill Level
Through experiential learning, your trainer will be better able to assess when you’ve mastered a skill or topic and you’re ready to move on to the next.
By watching you apply what you’re learning through hands-on training, they can rate your proficiency. Once you’ve reached an acceptable level, they can help you move on to the next process or piece of equipment you need to learn to be successful in your new role.
Experiential Learning Makes Happier, Productive Employees
Hands-on training comes in many forms. Job shadowing and coaching. Role-playing. Hands-on activities.
Workplaces that offer such extensive training programs create happier employees and bolster their confidence on the job.
Investing in such programs pays off. It increases employee retention, as they are more committed not only to the field, but to the company as well.
Satisfied and well-trained employees are also more productive. They feel more confident as they learn new skills and can contribute to the company in a more meaningful way.
Which Fields Offer Hands-on Training?
No matter where your skills and passions lie, there’s a wide range of fields that use extensive hands-on training.
Many trades offer apprenticeship programs that let you learn the skills you need on the job as you work your way up to a full employee in your field.
Meanwhile, many medical careers are launched through hands-on opportunities. This includes nurses, paramedics, dental assistants, physical and respiratory therapists, veterinary technicians, and even those in medical billing and coding.
There are other fields to consider, as well. Law enforcement, as well as firefighters, receive in-depth training before they’re expected to perform fully on their own.
Farmers, gardeners, and landscape designers learn best while outside working in the environment. Make-up artists and hairstylists also hone their skills best by picking up a makeup brush or pair of scissors. And a chef learns his way around the kitchen by actually being in the kitchen.
Ready to Change Your Life?
Now that you’ve learned how hands-on training might elevate your career path, what other areas of your life would you like to enhance?
Check out our blog for more helpful tips on personal growth and making life changes.