Training for development focuses on training not primarily as a source of new information, but rather as a means for changing behaviour for lasting improvement on the job (Lynton and Pareek, 1990). Training is trainee-centered, individually placed and job related and it based on learning through experience, skill and practice and takes place in the actual work environment to be effective.
MEANING OF TRAINING
Training means to educate a person so as to be fitted, qualified, and proficient in doing some job. For an extension worker, training includes education which aims at bringing a desirable change in the behaviour of the trainee, or the learner. This change requires a change in his knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, beliefs and understandings so that he fits in his job and become qualified and proficient in communicating the desirable knowledge to his client system, i.e., the farmers, animal breeders, home makers etc.
Training of employees has been defined by Milton Hall as “the process of aiding employees to gain effectiveness in their present or future work through the development of appropriate habits of thought and action, skills, knowledge and attitudes,” It consists mainly of telling, showing and guiding people in the performance of tasks and then in checking the results. Training is not only the idea of knowledge received, but that of such knowledge digested through application, drill and discipline.
It means getting a man to do a job correctly, effectively and conscientiously – correctly, so that he can do or apply what he has learnt effectively, so that he can product the desired results, conscientiously so that his underlying attitudes, convictions and enthusiasms provide the discipline he needs to keep on doing the right things in the right way and thus contribute to the welfare of the organisation.
According to Collins, training must include the instruction, and other learning experiences, which purport to fit the worker into the service so that he competently meats the demands of his job, as determined by the changing leadership needs of people. It has the characteristics of (a) concern with skill; (b) concern with whole learning, (c) concern with practice, and (d) concern with safe experimentation.
TRAINING NEEDS
Before organizing training programme it is necessary to determine correctly the training needs of the group of personnel. The training needs may be determined in three ways. First, from an analysis of organizational change. The organization must change if it is successfully to meet new conditions and so must the operations conducted within the organization. This means that the people who operate the systems, procedures and role of the organization must be trained to accept new jobs and new skills. Second, from analysis of work problems as inefficiencies and problems within the organization indicate that the worker has been inadequately trained. Thirdly, training needs can be derived from an analysis of manpower wastage data.
Training needs could be in the areas of skill, knowledge and attitudes. Individuals require training to overcome problems as well as to avoid creating problematic situation in the organizations. It has been observed that most of the problematic situations are people-centered. When individuals have to learn new skills, replace incorrect habits with productive habits, modify attitudes and acquire additional knowledge, training is one of the best management tools available.
NEED FOR TRAINING
It is felt that a young person entering a career will have to be trained for two or three professions in the span of their active lines of work. This is because many new developments will render much of today’s knowledge obsolete.
Man’s knowledge, like machines, can rapidly become obsolescent. “Training is a means to reduce the obsolescence among people and organizations in the face of relentless technological innovation”.
The professional worker must keep abreast of the latest development in his field; otherwise he will soon be working far below his potential and capacities.
Training improves a person’s a person’s skill, his power of intelligence and develops in him the desired attitudes and values required for his work. Training helps the new entrant to acquire occupational work-skills and the latest knowledge, makes him familiar with the objectives of the organization to which he belongs and helps to make his potential contribution in promoting the goals of his organization. Training also makes up for any deficiencies in the new recruits and maintains or boosts morale of the staff. It is conducive to cohesion in regard to methods of world approach to problems.
Training has special significance in the field of livestock development and the context of community development extension since the very essence of programmes is to train rural people to solve most of their problems individually or in groups. The success of the extension worker can be judged ultimately by the extent to which he has been able to make the village people self-reliant, in getting them to do things by themselves without relying on outside help.
The role of the extension worker, indicate clearly the need for a new kind of worker. This has been recognized by the planners and administrators of rural development programmes. This type of worker should be able to get on well with the common people, know their way of life, have sympathy with their hopes and aspirations and possess a genuine desire to help them. In contrast to the past, Government servants must approach the villager as a friend-one who wants to and will help the villager learn how to make decisions and achieve for himself and his family a better way of life.
TYPES OF TRAINING FOR EXTENSION WORKERS
The training of extension workers can be classified as follows:
1) Pre-service training:
The training the extension worker recovers before joining the actual job. This includes his education at a High School or Higher Secondary School, a general college or professional college, namely Livestock University, Livestock College, Veterinary College, College of Livestock Engineering Home Science college, Engineering college, Medical college from where the extension workers receive degrees of B.Sc.,/B.Sc., (Ag), B.V.Sc., Agri. Engg., B.Tech/B.E and the specific training as incase of a village level worker at the VLW Training Centre, for nurses at Nurses ‘ Training Centre in Medical Science or Family Planning.
2) In- service training:
This is for improving the ability of the extension worker, or keeping him abreast of the latest knowledge, or giving him some special training in the new job he is required to do. This may be (a) Orienting the worker after he joins the job, or orienting an old worker with the new job he is required to do; (h) Induction training (c) Job training (d) Short range courses; (e) Periodical meetings and conferences, seminars, workshops, etc.
a) Orientations of new entrants:
The worker when he joins the job needs to be oriented to the organizational set up where he has to work, the philosophy behind the organization, the code of conduct e.g., the extension and C.D. worker have to have training in the correct approach to the farmer, his relationship, the ways of doing things, facilities he will get, reports he is to submit, broad principles of extension work, etc. For this job, there are some orientation and study centers.
b) Induction training:
Some institutions have been designed where extension workers can be given the knowledge of the working and organization of community development and extension service, his place of work and his place in the work-team. The orientation centers do this job.
c) Short-range courses:
The Directorate of Extension in the Ministry of Food and Livestock and Community Development through the State Livestock and Veterinary Departments and Livestock Colleges and Universities organizes 45 days training at Livestock and Veterinary Colleges. About 35 AEOs are deputed for such training and are paid Rs.75 per month in addition to their pay and traveling allowance, etc. They are given training in technical subjects like latest varieties and cultural practices, plant protection use of fertilizers, horticulture and extension methods. Similar training is given to Veterinary Extension Officers, also.
d) Job training:
If the extension workers are required to do some special job like soil conservation or land scaping, they may be deputed to get this special training being given at some specially designed centers. In soil conservation it may be at Dehradun Forest Institute in U.P., or at Kota in Rajas than etc.
e) Periodical meetings and conferences:
Livestock Universities now organize such training in collaboration with State Livestock and Veterinary Departments, for Extension Officers, working at District Level or above, Rahi and kharif meetings are held to work out the Package of Practices for various districts for the coming crop seasons. At such meetings the research staff and the subject matter specialists of the University or colleges are also invited. There may be some special workshops on information and communication, viz., Soybean Conference, Minor Irrigation and Water use, etc. These are held to refresh the extension workers. Similar courses of about three months are organized for village level workers at VLW training centers, and also for other extension personnel.
TRAINING METHODS-For Farmers
The commonly used methods for training of farmers are discussed in brief.
(a) Short talks:
Elaborate planning of lectures is not essential for village audiences. But short talks centered round three or four points can be prepared by extension workers for the benefit of rural people. These can be delivered while conducting demonstrations or on formal occasions like mass meetings.
As villagers will be mainly concerned with practical problems, the short talks can follow the problem-centered arrangement of subject matter. In other words, the extension worker can begin his talk by stating the problem which is exercising the attention of the villagers, follow it up by describing some of the causes of the problem and end the talk by suggesting remedies. He should be given enough practice in preparing such talks while receiving training. He may be asked periodically to prepare talks on different subjects and then during practice sessions, he can deliver a short talk prepared by him before the other trainees, who will evaluate it afterwards.
b) Audio-visual aids:
The same is true of audio- visual aids. At first the trainees can be apprised of all the existing audio-visual aids and then asked to concentrate on those aids which they can profitably use in rural situations, such as flash- cards, flannel graphs, roll-up blackboards, posters, models and exhibits, etc. They should be particularly taught how to prepare inexpensive aids like flash-cards and flannel graphs and should also be asked to demonstrate before others how to use the same.
c) Method and result demonstration
Training in setting up and supervising result and method demonstrations is already under way in India and other countries. But this has to be intensified. The intensity of training in this area will depend, of course, on the physical facilities available in the training centers.
Extension of the period of training is another prerequisite for intensive training insetting up method and result demonstrations which require a good deal of initial preparation.
Result demonstrations, particularly in livestock, have to be carried over a whole season and the demonstration effect sometimes becomes obvious only after one or two years. A minimum of two years training would, therefore, seem to be necessary for all village level extension workers who are concerned with the improvement of livestock.
d) Field trips
Organisation of field trips is another area which requires much greater attention than has hitherto been accorded to it. While receiving training, extension workers may be encouraged to organize field trips on the lines described earlier in this book. They should carry note-books with them when under taking field trips and record their observations systematically.It would be better; however, if an extension worker is taught how to use a number of methods in combination, because in actual field situations they have to use a variety of methods, sometimes simultaneously.
e) Training in group discussion:
Another major area where the extension worker can be effectively trained is in conducting and participating in group discussion, which is probably the most common method of communicating with the villagers. Therefore, the extension worker, whether he is doing supervisory or direct field work, must know how to handle group discussions. In this, effective training can be imparted in the training centre itself. Each trainee can be made in turn, the chairman of a group consisting of 7 or 8 people and the subject for discussion can be given to him. While the discussion proceeds, other trainees and instructors who constitute the audience can watch how the group is participating in the discussion and particularly how the chairman is doing his part. An important lacuna with most people is that they start a meeting without an agenda.
Moreover, there is a tendency for the chairman himself to dominate the meeting. Thirdly, few chairmen take the trouble of summarizing from time to time and going on to the next item on the agenda. All these points can be observed by the larger group and their reactions can be conveyed to the smaller group after the discussions over. Through these practice sessions, each trainee can acquire sufficient experience in the training centre on participation in group discussion. Something of this sort is being done at present, in many training centers, though not to an appreciable extent.
f) Training in community organization:
But the major area where very little has been accomplished so far, is in making the trainee effective in his dealings with others, particularly village groups, leaders and factions. Community organization and leadership in rural areas, is a novel subject and most Instructors do not possess enough practical experience themselves to teach these subjects effectively. In the last analysis, of course, ability to work with people would depend a great deal on the personality of the extension worker. Certain basic human qualities like sympathy or affection, sincerity or imagination must be present but they cannot be developed through training.
However, assuming that an extension worker has these qualities, he can be trained to work with people in two ways:
1. by actually acquiring such experience through execution of different programmes in experimental villages during his period of training and,
2. through contrived experience in the training centre, such as role playing or case studies. By selecting actual cases from villages or the recorded experience of other extension workers working in similar situations, or by imagining himself in contrived situations and plotting alternative lines of action as described in the section on ’Role Playing’, the trainees can gain some initial insight in working with people.
TRAINING METHODS-For Extension Scientists
Making the extension worker more plan-minded
Formal training can also be improved considerably. There are at least three or four distinct areas where teaching can be rendered effective and field-oriented. In the first place, every extension worker should be made plan-minded through this training. Planning in extension work has three or four aspects. There is for instance, the question of long-term planning of programmes. Every extension worker must have an annual, biennial or even quinquennial plan of programme execution. This type of planning will impart an over-all direction and long-term perspective to his work. To prepare these plans, he has to conduct and elaborate survey of his area, assess local resources and needs and fix targets. Periodic evaluation of the work accomplished, would also come under his over-all planning.
To enable an extension worker to achieve all this, the training he undergoes should equip him mainly through class-room lectures and audio-visual aids, in the matter of the fundamental principles and calculations involved in planning and fixation of targets. He can also be given some practice in drawing up actual plans in villages where training centers have experimental villages attached to them.
Scientific methods of data collection, interviewing techniques, collating data, calculations involved in drawing up targets and lastly, procedures of evaluation can initially be learnt in the class-room under the expert guidance of the Instructor. He can then apply his knowledge in the experimental villages, in drawing up annual plans of village development, including livestock and industrial production plans.
Apart from long-term planning, the extension worker has to be taught planning of immediate programmes which involve a considerable amount of initial preparation. If, for instance, he is thinking of launching a production campaign during the next few months in, let us say, jute, paddy or any other crop he must plan elaborately an intensive educational campaign to inspire the farmers to increase production. This educational campaign will involve giving short talks, showing audio-visual aids, method and result demonstrations, follow up activities, field trips and other teaching methods. An enormous amount of initial work including formal and informal contacts with the people through mass meetings and home visits, preparation of audio-visual materials and talks and collection of modern implements and other demonstration equipment, will have to precede this educational campaign. Unless the extension worker is made plan-minded during his training and develops an eye for detail, he is not likely to succeed under the difficult field conditions in which he has to operate.
Apart from long-term and short-term planning, the extension worker must have the imagination and the training continually to plan new approaches and new schemes wherever possible. If for instance, he finds that the existence of local raw materials and markets would warrant the introduction of a new cottage industry which may provide employment to a number of people, he should be able to draw up a feasible scheme within the resources and the administrative powers at his disposal. At the moment, few extension workers are mentally equipped to draw up new schemes or experiment with new methods of work. Most of them prefer to work in a stereotyped manner, the programme which is handed down to them by someone else – usually a superior officer.
Planning of new schemes in, let us say, methods of irrigation, rural industries, dairy farming, crop rotation..,etc by a village extension worker can be possible if he is given practical training in drawing up schemes. Special projects can be assigned to him by his Instructors and he can collect data and detailed factual information about the projects under their guidance to draw up model schemes. If, for instance, he is drawing up a workable scheme on weaving, he should be attached to an actual weaver during his practical training, so that he can collect detailed information about the implements and the process of manufacture, employment potential and market conditions. He should eventually be able to draw up a feasible scheme with a balance sheet showing the total expenditure, the income and employment opportunities that will arise if the scheme is implemented. Needless to say, this sort of practice will make him plan-minded generally.
Lastly, he is to be taught how to be methodical in his work. He must have a detailed plan of action every day. He can accomplish this by enumerating the items of work he is going to tackle on a particular day in his diary, and by ticking them off on completion. The incomplete items can be carried over to the next day’s list. He must also have a tour plan, so that he can systematically and regularly cover his entire area, bestowing equal attention on every village in his charge. In his diary, he must also maintain a record of the work he does, his own evaluation of it and a plan for future work. All these, he can be taught through formal training in the training centre which should insist on each trainee maintaining a daily diary of activities.
EVALUATION OF TRAINING
a) Written tests:
How can one know whether the training being imparted is effective and is turning out extension workers expert in demonstrating new teaching methods? There is need, therefore, of periodic evaluation of training on a number of points. There should be assessment of assimilation of lectures, participation in discussions, and use of audio-visual aids by trainees through written test and the other evaluation methods described earlier.
b) Follow-up of training in the field:
But the most important evaluation is, perhaps, observing the trainee in the field, after he has completed his training. This evaluation should be periodically done by a team of Instructors, each Instructor evaluating that section of the training he has been responsible for. A proforma, on the lines given below, can be drawn up by the observation team who should carry out their observations together. The advantage of joint observation is that the Instructors can supplement one another in their observations.
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