How Much Should Job Training Match the Client’s Past Experiences?

The workforce has changed dramatically in the past three years. With so many people adjusting to work-from-home situations or taking safety measures when they work outside of the home to avoid COVID-19, everything from daily routine to hiring and job training has taken on a different look now.

For example, job training and certifications are more often done online, like the 40+ online career training programs from MedCerts. Through WIOA and other training funds available, it’s possible and accessible for low-income job seekers to gain the skills and training they need for a new career.

As a workforce case manager trying to help your client find the right career, understanding how to incorporate your client’s past skills into their new training — and whether that’s necessary in the first place — is important.

Matching Job Training to Your Client’s Past Work Experience

As the workforce continues to shift with the times, more employers are looking toward continuous learning. Some value upskilling, while others are reskilling employees to work in different areas of their business.

In the healthcare industry, for example, job training and skill certifications have taken precedence over college degrees.

It can be beneficial to use previous work experience and skills in their new job training in the following ways:

• Increased efficiency of the training process — By building off of the strengths your client already has, you can zip through training more easily so that they can get started in their new career.

• Less frustration due to relearning — They can more easily grasp new training and certifications and might not have to go through the frustrating process of relearning something they already knew well.

• Better training results overall — They can become more confident in their work, thus pleasing their potential employers with the results of their training and certifications.

Matching job training to your client’s past job experience, however, may also have several drawbacks:

• Different processes needed for different employers — Even within the healthcare industry, different facilities might handle the same issue in different ways. Just because your client has experience with a certain process in one facility doesn’t mean they won’t need to be retrained for another facility.

• Reskilling rather than upskilling — In some cases, your client might be searching for an entry-level job that's different from their past job. Matching their training to their past experience might only be confusing.

• No experience — Job training, when your client has no previous experience in the area, is a completely different process, but it can help your clients find entry-level positions more easily. In the case of "no experience job training," it may be best to start from scratch.

The Bottom Line

There is no one-method-fits-all when it comes to job training and certifications for your clients.

Ultimately, you have to look at each client on a case-by-case basis. If they want to boost their training to go into a career where they are comfortable and know their strengths, draw on their past experience.

If they want something new, it might be better to start fresh by discussing their past experiences to determine the best job training plan. MedCerts programs are designed for learners at every level. Whether your client has experience in healthcare and IT or if they are new to the industry, they can easily excel in our training programs and join a high-demand career in six months or less.