Workplace Debate Episode 63: Employee Skill Diversity – Should It Be Adopted?
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I remember when I first graduated, at the shipyard, the company issued a document stating that, in addition to carrying out their regular duties, employees should develop skills in other areas as well, in order to achieve diversity in their competencies. Each employee should enroll in one or more skill training courses based on the actual circumstances. Well, at that time I was working in project management, so I signed up for a welder training course. After providing my educational background information, I was scolded by the principal of the welder school – what are you here to cause trouble for? To this end, let’s consider whether diversity in employees’ professional skills is necessary
It depends on the employees’ own preferences; some like to explore a wide range of topics, while others prefer to delve deep into specific areas. As long as it is beneficial for the company, they hope that the company will create favorable conditions for their personal development.
Skill diversity is certainly necessary, but it would be absurd for someone in project management to learn welding; instead, you should build on your project management skills by acquiring other related skills. When I used to work at a foreign company, my department in charge of automation had six specialized areas: instrumentation, hydraulic and pneumatic control, drives, DCS, QCS, and PLC. At that time, the company required each of us engineers to master more than two specialties, so as to be able to work as an engineer in two different fields independently; only engineers who knew more than two specialties had a chance for advancement. The most direct effect of this requirement is to maintain production stability, ensuring that the department is not affected by the loss of talent.
Such companies that encourage expertise in multiple areas and are also responsible for providing training can truly be considered conscientious enterprises. Like promotions, training is also a form of benefit. From the perspective of employees’ survival in the workplace, it’s definitely good to learn more; even if relations with the company deteriorate and they decide to leave, they will have more confidence to do so. But when making a choice, it’s also best for employees to opt for something that is related to their main job and that is more practical.
How should I explain this? For those who have just graduated, they don’t know what they’re going to do; moreover, they can’t even understand some of the blueprints, and they’re not clear about what needs to be done. Yet they’re expected to handle various tasks at the same time, which makes it difficult to focus on anything properly!
I think one should first meet the requirements of their own job role before delving into content related to other adjacent fields.
Then just rotate the roles! After working in a certain position for a certain period of time, one can change roles based on personal needs and with the approval of the supervisor.
As the saying goes, it’s never a bad thing to have multiple skills; one should learn as much as possible while still young, so that in the future there will be more options available if one decides to change jobs. These days, many larger companies break down tasks into very detailed components; generally, cross-functional work is not allowed. Only smaller companies will have you do this and that, and actually that’s a good thing, as it allows one to learn a lot of things that others cannot take away from you.
Can I tell you, is this the company from ten years ago? It has now been acquired by a state-owned enterprise. Moreover, it was never implemented at all and remained unfinished.
Our facility is a continuous production plant, and aside from carrying out inspections, employees have quite a lot of free time. I ask them to assist during maintenance tasks as well and to learn how to repair equipment; only by understanding its structure can they maintain it more effectively. Those who work with DCS systems are also taught analysis skills, with the main goal being to ensure the stable operation of production.
This kind of relevance is quite good. It satisfies both interest and work needs.