Most employees are excited at the opportunity to improve their skills, but there are others who are not. In addition to primary benefits like improved skills and performance, there is a secondary benefit that you should share with reluctant employees, to help them get excited about training and professional development.

This interesting piece of information was discovered by David Marcotte, associate professor of policy science at the University of Maryland, when he was analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The National Longitudinal Surveys is a collection of surveys by Ohio State University and the U.S. Department of Labor.

For 15 years, they tracked the careers of two groups of 3,000 men who started jobs in two different decades. The annual interviews included questions about the training and educational experience of the participants. Professor Marcotte found:

• That participation in any job training resulted in earnings gains 10 percent over and above comparable peers, with no additional post-employment training.
• Training frequency is a key factor in earnings. Workers who participated in training on multiple occasions throughout their careers earned in excess of 25% more than their peers.
• Training did not need to be lengthy to result in big earnings gains. Participating in short training courses resulted in wage gains as large as those stemming from participation in longer courses.