What is Vestibule Training? | Meaning & Definition | HR Glossary

The term “vestibule training” refers to a training method that focuses on imparting job education training to skilled personnel or those workers who need to deal with machinery and equipment of the company in a location other than the primary manufacturing plant. To put it another way, “near-the-job training”—otherwise known as vestibule training—refers to a simulation-based program that teaches workers how to operate machinery at their workplace.

Under vestibule training programs, the focus is on learning instead of production. Specialists or exceptional trainers are responsible for upskilling the technical staff and training them, thus reducing the load on line supervisors who need to oversee the whole production process. Vestibule training can be arranged in workstations or classrooms located in the vicinity of the leading manufacturing unit or within it.

Advantages of Vestibule Training

• The employees are focused solely on the manufacturing process and are well aware of any errors that can occur during production.
• Vestibule training is provided by an exceptional trainer who devotes more time to each worker’s problems. If such training is given by a line supervisor authorized to monitor the entire production process, then he will be able to give less time to his trainees.
• Vestibule training is an effective way of training a large number of workers who need to engage in the same job.
• Workplace productivity are unaffected during the training time in the vestibule because the simulated work setup is not in the main production plant.
• When workers are trained, they focus with total concentration on the training and do not fear making mistakes in production.
• Workers can get over their anxiety and nervousness at work by getting training at a simulated work environment before they join the actual workplace.
• Vestibule testing is performed in a simulated environment rather than on the natural work floor; this avoids disruption to actual work.
• Instruction to a large number of individuals who do the same task can be beneficial.
• Workers won’t have to suffer in actual settings since training is performed in a simulated environment.

Disadvantages of Vestibule Training

• Vestibule trainers are highly skilled individuals and may demand large sums of money for their services.
• Vestibule training is very expensive, as it requires an entire simulated workplace to be created for imparting it. It requires duplicate of all tools, machinery and equipment similar to actual work place for providing real time experience to workers.
• Workers might have a difficult time settling into their work environment.
• Setting up the entire training program before imparting training is a time-consuming process.

Where does vestibule training take place?

The training involves classroom instruction using equipment and machines similar to those used on the job. Theoretical and practical training takes place in the classroom, with most of the reasonable portion conducted on the production line.