Finding the Balance Between Schoolhouse and On-the-job Training

by Manacapilli, Thomas; Bailey, Alexis; Beighley, Christopher; Bennett, Bart; Bower, Aimee

• ISBN13: 9780833040459
• ISBN10: 0833040456
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-30
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

The Air Force typically trains 30,000 to 40,000 new airmen in some 300 specialties each year. It utilizes two methods for training its enlistees: centralized initial skills training (IST, or "schoolhouse" training) and decentralized on-the-job training (OJT). All too often, only IST costs are considered when "pricing" training, seriously underestimating the overall cost to train an airman. When all the costs are considered, including those of OJT, decisions related to the length of IST can be better informed. To determine the most cost-effective combination of IST and OJT, the authors developed a methodology based on a cost-benefit analysis of seven Air Force specialties. From a statistical analysis of data taken from surveys of senior enlisted personnel, they were able to assess how productivity changes when IST course length changes and to make recommendations concerning the IST course lengths that would produce the most productive airmen for the least possible cost. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Figures	p. ix
Tables	p. xiii
Summary	p. xv
Acknowlegments	p. xxi
Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
Motivation and Background	p. 2
Centralized and Decentralized Training in the Air Force	p. 4
An Approach for Determining the Length of Centralized Training	p. 8
Data Sources	p. 9
Structure of the Monograph	p. 11
Review of the Literature	p. 13
Measuring Productivity	p. 13
Comparing Technical Training Graduates and Directed-Duty Assignees	p. 15
Calculating Costs for OJT	p. 16
Additional Options	p. 18
Current Program and Available Data	p. 18
What This Monograph Adds	p. 20
A Survey to Determine Productivity and Effectiveness	p. 23
Survey Contents	p. 23
Selection of Survey Participants and Sample Size	p. 25
Quantifying Time to Become Fully Mission Effective	p. 27
Variance in Responses	p. 28
Deriving Effectiveness Curves	p. 30
Scaling the Effectiveness Curves	p. 32
Determining What Curriculum Elements Should Be Dropped or Added	p. 35
Discussion of "Suggestion" Responses	p. 37
Summarizing the Qualitative Data	p. 42
Developing Incremental Change Functions	p. 42
Calculating Total Cost	p. 51
Overview	p. 51
Productive Activity and Human Capital Development Costs	p. 51
Training Costs	p. 52
On-the-Job Training Costs	p. 53
Cost-Effective Course Lengths	p. 57
The Full Cost of Human Capital Development	p. 57
Reducing Human Development Costs	p. 60
Cost, Productivity, and End Strength	p. 62
Constant End Strength	p. 62
Constant Productivity	p. 65
Constant Cost	p. 67
Conclusions	p. 67
Recommendations and Conclusions	p. 69
Appendix
Air Force Specialty Code Descriptions	p. 73
Survey Instrument	p. 75
Defining "Fully Mission-Effective" or "Mission-Ready" Airmen	p. 83
Data Cleaning	p. 87
Statistical Results	p. 91
Productivity Curves	p. 97
Comments on Adding/Deleting Content from IST	p. 105
Cost-Productivity Results for Seven AFSCs	p. 113
Bibliography	p. 121
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