On-the-job training is the most common form of informal training available. It is also the easiest, because, in most cases, it is provided while performing in the working environment. Although the basics of most tasks can be provided in the classroom, nothing can replace the hands-on experience gained in learning about any particular task, watch station, or a piece of equipment. OJT is usually provided during drills, watches, and actual operational evolutions. Ships' crews are largely made up of experienced technicians. As one of those senior technicians, it is your responsibility to pass on your skills and expertise to those you work with to maintain and improve the maximum efficiency of your unit. One of the better aspects of OJT is that while a person is being trained on the job, he or she is also undergoing other forms of informal training at the same time. For example, if a person is standing a watch under your instruction, he or she is also learning and demonstrating the required PQS skills for that watch station. He or she may also be receiving instructions or information that may be provided through general military training.

General Navy Training (GNT)

General Navy training is conducted at every unit for virtually everyone in the Navy. GNT is used to make personnel aware of all the knowledges and skills necessary to function from day to day within the Navy environment. In other words, information is passed that should become general knowledge to all naval personnel. A wide variety of subjects are covered through GNT and to list them all would be nearly impossible. You should know, however, that each command is responsible for maintaining a GNT program. Guidelines governing the organization and implementation of the GNT program are provided in the unit's Standard Organization and Regulations Manual (SORM).

Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS)

The PQS Program is a qualification system for officer and enlisted personnel to perform certain duties. A PQS is a compilation of minimum knowledge and skills necessary to qualify for a specific watch station, maintain specific equipment, or perform as a team member within a unit.

Watch stations refer to those watches normally assigned by a watch bill, and in the majority of cases, are operator oriented. Maintenance standards are tasks pertaining to technical upkeep of systems of units of

equipment, such as a 5"/54 Mk 45 group maintenance supervisor. Performance of a team member can best be described as standards that refer to the knowledge and skills appropriate for standardized qualifications that are not peculiar to a specific watch station or piece of equipment but apply more broadly within the unit, such as a member of a damage control party.

A complete list of all PQS materials currently available in the Navy supply system is contained in the PQS Catalog, NAVEDTRA 43100-5, which is updated quarterly. For further information describing the implementation, logistics, and management of the PQS program, refer to the Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) Management Guide, NAVEDTRA 43100-1.

The PQS program is not designed as a training program but provides many training objectives. PQS should be used as a key element of a well structured and dynamic unit training program. Training, especially at the informal (or shipboard) level, is a constantly ongoing process. These are not all of the training processes in existence, but the ones you will encounter most frequently.

EFFECTIVE TRAINING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Discuss how you can make available training effective.

Since we have identified the importance of training, we must also point out the importance of the ability to conduct this training; in other words, the ability to be an effective teacher. Any time you show someone how to do something, you have performed the function of being a teacher. As a supervisor, you are going to be called upon more and more to fill this role. You are expected to impart your accumulated skills and experience to your personnel as necessary to make them efficient in the performance of their duties. You should be able to teach by both the formal and the informal methods. The majority of the instruction you will provide is going to be informal. You maybe required to teach personnel in a number of areas, ranging from general military information and skills to the performance of a specialized technical operation.

To be an effective teacher, you should have some specific skills as well as being adequately prepared. First, you should be well versed and very knowledgeable in the material that you are teaching. It is virtually impossible to impart a level of knowledge to someone if you do not understand what you are teaching in the first place.

No matter what you are trying to teach, you should take a personal interest in the preparation and presentation of the material involved. If you stand up in front of a group of people and speak in a monotone, displaying an attitude of obvious boredom, you have failed as an instructor and wasted a lot of valuable time. This type of attitude tells whoever you are trying to teach you do not believe what you are telling them is important or worth knowing about. Consequently, they are not going to pay attention to what you say or do, because they also are going to become bored and disinterested. When preparing your instruction or lesson plan, you should look for ways to make the material you plan to present as interesting as possible. Repetition should only be done to emphasize the importance of the material being presented.

One of the most important attributes of a supervisor (an instructor) is self-confidence. A person's confidence is based upon one's knowledge of the job, and most importantly, one's own personal belief in his or her abilities. Confidence begets confidence. A weak or unsure supervisor will not inspire confidence in the people around him or her. A supervisor who demonstrates his or her knowledge, and the confidence to use that knowledge, will usually inspire others to attempt to gain and use the same knowledge.

Just as is true inmost other operations, training also includes a certain degree of quality control. This is accomplished through such media as testing, questionnaires, and demonstration of the skills acquired from the training. What you are doing is determining whether or not the training you conduct is actually successful

All training should be conducted with the maximum technical support available. This technical support may be available in the form of publications, procedural guides, information handouts, safety precautions, and even hands-on operations. The more you can reinforce the subject matter being taught with examples, the more likely the material you are teaching will be retained by the students.