If you help employees improve job skills, you may not only contribute to their personal and professional development, but also to the growth of your company.

Through job skills training, employees become more competent and confident, and can make more significant contributions to the performance of the organization. They'll also feel more valued by their employer, encouraging them to stay with the company, rather than move to another company they think is more invested in them. And providing job skills learning is easier than ever, with several companies providing online job skills education employees can complete at work or at home.

Job skills education can include:

1. Interpersonal skills, such as listening and working with others
2. Workplace skills such as leadership, teambuilding and motivation
3. Specific job skills, such as certifications
4. Academic degrees
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Assess your employees' current job skills

Some of the most important job skills information is uncovered by helping your employees find job skills they lack, or those that can help them progress the most. Once they understand their strengths and weaknesses, and identify the skills most relevant to their job, they can create a job skills list to help them more strategically pursue their education. This saves them, and the company, time and money, and helps them play a larger role in the organization much sooner.

I recommend: Brainbench offers online aptitude, assessment and personality testing in over 600 areas, in addition to custom test development. The Assessment Team also offers online employee assessments and evaluations.

Use incentives to encourage job skills education

Many employers offer tuition reimbursement to encourage employees to finish college, pursue advanced degrees or qualify for certifications. Some employers also offer a bonus or salary increase for employees who receive additional training. Employers often include these perks in their benefits packages, which can help attract not only qualified, but also ambitious employees.

I recommend: The website for WorldAtWork, a national human resources association, includes sections on compensation and benefits. Idealist.org includes a section on compensation and benefits for nonprofit organizations.

Choose a job skills provider

You have several options when it comes to job skills training: on-site coaching, seminars or workshops; outside training, such as a technical institute, community college or university; and online training. Your choice depends on budget, time, and the number of employees attending training.

I recommend: Help employees refine their communications, personal effectiveness and leadership skills with training videos from Employee University. MindLeaders offers employee development e-Learning solutions for corporations, small businesses, government agencies and academic institutions. Check out their job skills directory of training solutions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To help employees improve job skills, offer flex time or other options for time off, so they can better juggle their full-time job with their training--and be ready to plunge into their new roles once they've completed their job skills education.