How to Write Clear Training Objectives That Describe Exactly What the Trainee Will Learn

Three Minute Training Tip for new trainers #2

This is a quick tip for unqualified trainers or those new to training others.

I’ve spent the last four decades working in the Training/Learning & Development field as a practitioner and manager. I thought I’d pull together some bite-sized snippets to help newbie trainers.

The Importance of Clear Objectives

If you are in charge of training others, you need to write clear training objectives.

You, the trainee, and your line managers will then be clear about what the trainee will do at the end of the training.

Sometimes training objectives are referred to as outcomes. No matter the language, you need to know what the trainee needs to do as a result of your training.

A training objective looks like this:

‘At the end of the training you will be able to…’

There is a clear delineation between what the trainee can do now and what they can do after the training.

When you write a training objective, it should be about the trainee doing something. The trainee must perform an action they couldn’t complete before the training. Training objectives should not use ‘know’ or ‘understand’.

We want the trainees to know and understand but also do something. If the training objective is information-related, you can phrase the training objective as ‘able to recite, state or explain {something}’.

Example objectives:

‘At the end of the training you will be able to make a cup of tea, safely and to the required standards.’

‘At the end of the training you will be able to recite the company values.’

‘At the end of the training you will be able to deliver excellent customer service in accordance with company policy.’

You can break objectives down into smaller components, like this …

At the end of the training you will be able to:

• Locate the equipment needed to make a cup of tea
• Use the equipment safely
• Boil water for the tea
• Mix the tea and water together to the desired strength
• Add milk, sugar, and lemon as required

When you are asked to train people, you are unlikely to be given proper training objectives, so you must write them yourself. Always check back to make sure that the objective match what is required.

Most line managers are not trainers and need a lot of prompting to verify what they want the trainees to do at the end of the training.

Summary

• You need a training objective to design your training content
• The training objective clarifies what must be learned to you, the trainee, your boss, the trainees boss, and the person who asked you to design the training
• Objectives state what the trainee can do at the end of the training
• You will have to verify the training objectives precisely if someone asks you to design training

What is your biggest challenge when you are training other people?

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