Basic skills training for small business

Praxis Adult Training and Skills Development worked with Subway Sandwiches and Salads to examine training requirements in franchises. After an extensive organizational needs assessment Praxis designed a program of on-the-job training for front-line workers and their managers.

Although Subway's head office collaborated on developing the program, the decision to participate in training was up to individual franchisees, their employees, and their managers. Franchisees who understood the importance of training and investing in employees were the first to respond. The training was developed, undertaken, and evaluated in Ontario.

Basic Skills Training for Small Business has three components: on-the-job training for employees, training for managers, and pre-employment training for unemployed workers in the community.

The basic-skills training for the employees looks at job-specific tasks as well as current issues in the food service industry. The goal is to improve the basic skills of Subway front-line staff in communications (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), math, problem solving, and job performance. Job-specific objectives include dealing with customers, getting along with management and co-workers, and handling paperwork and common procedures (cash, inventory, etc.).

The employee component has three tools: a reader, course materials, and instructor's manual. The reader Working in the Fast Food Industry helps participants explore issues of the industry. Fifteen articles from newspapers and trade journals — rewritten in plain language — cover such topics as health, marketing, the environment, customer service, and women in franchises. The reader includes work sheets for reading comprehension, word study, and follow-up writing.

Employee course materials provide exercises to develop basic skills and job performance skills. The exercises replicate the complex set of activities that Subway staff have to deal with regularly — customer service, food preparation, paper- work, and staff relations. They reflect the job — tasks that are varied yet interconnected.

The instructor's manual defines objectives for lessons, activities to meet the objectives, and a step-by-step method to use the materials. Activities range from large- and small-group work to independent study and peer tutoring.

Training for managers is also content based, developing basic skills along with improving the supervisory skills needed for managing or owning a franchise. Objectives include managing a culturally diverse workforce; operating in a culturally diverse marketplace; finding, selecting, and hiring employees; motivating, training, and evaluating staff.

A participant's guide and facilitator's guide organize this component. Discussion, role playing, and reading and writing activities engage the participants in relevant content and skills practice simultaneously. For instance, activities on hiring employees include discussing methods for finding candidates; reading the Human Rights Code for legal information; playing roles to learn effective interviewing techniques; and reviewing various application forms for clear language and suitable questions.

The pre-employment basic-skills training component relates to the broad food-service industry. Materials include information on restaurants and catering as well as fast food establishments. Life skills and job search are also part of this community-based outreach program.