Induction is the introduction given to someone who has just joined. Ongoing training is the learning that continues for people already on the team. Induction answers “how do things work here?” and ongoing training answers “how can you do this better or do something new?”.
This lesson follows comparing internal and external recruitment, because once someone is chosen, the business must prepare them. It is part of recruitment and training.
What makes the two different?
The difference is mainly who and when. Induction is for a new starter and happens at the start. Ongoing training is for existing staff and can happen at any point.
| Point | Induction | Ongoing training |
|---|---|---|
| Who | New employee | Existing employee |
| When | First days or weeks | Throughout employment |
| Content | Tour, safety, rules, introductions | New skills, machines, systems |
| Aim | Settle in, start safely | Improve or widen skills |
Both can use on-the-job methods, where the person learns at work, or off-the-job methods, such as a course.
How to classify an activity, step by step
- Ask who is being taught. A brand new starter points to induction.
- Ask when it happens. In the first days points to induction.
- Ask what it is for. Learning where things are and the rules points to induction. Learning a new or higher skill points to ongoing training.
- Then name the method. Is it at the workplace or away from it?
Worked example
Kafe Kopi Sabah in Kota Kinabalu hired a new barista, Mei Ling. Four things happened.
- On day one the manager showed her the kitchen, fire exits and hygiene rules.
- In week one she was introduced to the team and shown the till system.
- In month three the café bought a new espresso machine, and she attended a half-day course run by the supplier.
- In month six the manager trained her to cover the opening shift.
Step 1, items 1 and 2: Mei Ling is new and it is the start. Both are induction.
Step 2, item 3: She is now an existing member of staff learning a new machine. This is ongoing training. It is off-the-job if the course was held away from the café, and on-the-job if the supplier ran it at the counter.
Step 3, item 4: Learning to cover opening is development for an existing member of staff. This is ongoing training, probably on the job.
Judgement: The induction helped Mei Ling start safely. The later training kept her skills in line with what the café needed.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to call every piece of training “induction”.
Mistaken answer: “The supplier’s course on the new machine was induction because it was training for a new thing.”
Mei Ling had already worked there for three months. A new machine does not make her a new starter.
The correction is to ask who is being taught and when. “New thing” is not the test. “New to the business” is the test.
Another slip is to say induction only covers safety. It can also cover people, systems and tasks.
Check yourself
Try these without notes, then open each answer.
1. Induction or ongoing training? (a) A new van driver is shown the delivery routes on day one. (b) A senior chef learns a new menu costing system after two years.
Show answer
(a) Induction, because the driver is new and it is the start. (b) Ongoing training, because the chef is existing staff learning a new skill.
2. A shop sends a staff member to a two-day evening course at a college. Is this on-the-job or off-the-job? Give one benefit and one cost.
Show answer
It is off-the-job, because it is away from the shop. Benefit: the person can learn in depth from a specialist. Cost: course fees and the time away from the shop’s work.
3. Give two things a business might include in an induction for a new kitchen assistant.
Show answer
Any two of: a tour of the kitchen, hygiene and safety rules, introductions to the team, how to use the equipment, who to ask for help, and the daily tasks and hours.
Where this leads next
Once you can sort the two types, the next question is whether training is worth paying for. Move on to explaining a training cost-benefit relationship. The ratios with interpretation limits tool helps when a case gives numbers to compare.
Some students recognise the terms but mix them under time pressure. That is the kind of pattern our teachers look for in online one-to-one Business tuition.