Structured On-the-Job Training: Unleashing Employee Expertise in the Workplace

Ronald L. Jacobs, Ph.D., is professor of workforce development and education at the Ohio State University. He has written nearly one hundred journal articles and book chapters on a range of human resource development topics, including human competence, employee development, and managing organizational change. In addition, he has edited two books, Planned Training on the Job (Sage, 2001) and Implementing On-the-Job Learning (ASTD, 2002). He is a frequent speaker at professional meetings and conferences. Ron is particularly known for his research and development work on structured on-the-job training, a term that he first introduced to the human resource development literature in 1987. Much of his research has been on determining the financial benefits of structured OJT, information that is critical for making more informed training investment decisions. Ron has consulted extensively in both manufacturing and service organizations, having worked for numerous large organizations such as American Electric Power, General Motors, KLM Airlines, Abbott Laboratories, Seagate, and Rohm and Haas. He has presented and consulted inter- nationally in Taiwan, South Korea, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Kuwait, among other countries. Ron has taught at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and held a distinguished visiting professorship at the School of Business, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.