TWI-Train-the-Trainer, New Zealand Style

My friend and fellow TWI geek, Mark Warren, has made available the full versions of the Organizing and Coaching guides from the New Zealand TWI group. A special thanks to Mark from all TWI Blog readers for sharing excerpts in the coming weeks...if you would like to purchase a printed copy of the NZ materials, go to this link and support Mark in his dedicated research efforts to uncovering lean lessons already learned - making today’s job easier for all of us.

It is important to note that the materials I’ll be posting on the TWI Blog represent 30 years of practical use in New Zealand industry and professional sectors. The New Zealand Industrial Training Services group developed a complete TWI solution for New Zealand companies over a 30 year period of ongoing continual development. One of the first projects for the New Zealand TWI Service was to establish a research group to validate and improve the TWI programs to improve the outcomes for their enterprises. In 1947 New Zealand had only 6 companies with more than 500 employees. The best examples of TWI use in the USA and England were with the larger companies. To state the obvious, the materials I’ll be posting over the following weeks and months are how-to’s for small business organizational excellence.

First up...a bit of a shocker...

How long does it take in the U.S. for one to become a Master Trainer in Job Instruction? If you read through the U.S. archive materials, the time commitment evolved from around 40 hrs to upwards of 80 hrs. If you include the attendance and observation as a participant in JI 10 hr sessions, one could argue that a Master Trainer needs to commit 80-160 hours. That’s a big commitment!

Or is it? Check out this NZ Timetable adaptation for staff training in the TWI programs:

Yup...two years!

Here are the questions that go through my mind when I read this timetable: is U.S. TWI training this intensive? Should it be? What are the trade-offs? What are the benefits? Take a close look at the information, why is this important? What would you change about your current train-the-trainer program in this light?

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