Different people learn at different rates, for lots of different reasons. In any group of learners that come into a training session:

• not everyone is going to have the same motivation for learning
  
  
• not everyone will be at the same level of understanding or skill
  
  
• no single style of training will suit everyone equally.

However, even after you've allowed for these natural variations, sometimes you'll find that a learner isn't picking up a concept or technique as quickly as you thought they would.

Whenever a learner doesn't seem to be achieving their full potential, you need to ask yourself whether there is a barrier that's holding them back, and whether there is something you can do about it. Below are some barriers and possible solutions.

Poor motivation

One of the biggest barriers to succeeding in any new challenge is a lack of motivation. Remember that motivation has to come from within - it can't be drummed into an under-performing student by a cranky trainer.

The best way to help learners overcome a motivation problem is to give them positive reasons for doing the training, and a sense that the end result will be worth the effort.

Here are some suggestions on how to get your learners motivated:

• Set a series of goals, making sure that each one is achievable in a short period of time, and that together they act as stepping stones towards the long term objectives of the training program
  
  
• Be interesting, by varying the activities you give the learners and involving them as much as possible in the training activities
  
  
• Build confidence, by praising good performance, especially from learners who are hesitant or have low expectations of themselves.

Poor literacy skills

There are times when the literacy demands of a training course turn out to be much higher than the literacy skills required to actually do the job.

You may get away with this as a trainer if your participants have well developed literacy skills, but when you're training workers in a very practical production-level course, there are always going to be students who have some degree of trouble with basic reading and writing.

There are a variety of reasons why participants may have poor literacy skills, including:

• a lack of basic education, either from having left school early, or simply not being good at academic studies
  
  
• coming from a non-English speaking background, especially if their schooling was completed before they arrived in Australia
  
  
• having a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia.

Whatever the reason, it's your job as a trainer to identify the learners who might struggle because of literacy problems, and look for solutions before it becomes an obstacle to their ability to complete the course.

We'll talk more about this issue in Section 4 in the chapter: 'Language, literacy and numeracy'.

Poor computer skills

E-learning has come a long way in such a short time. Many learning resources are now being produced in interactive CD or website formats, and assignments can often be submitted via the web or in email attachments.

Some trainers also use 'social networking' websites for communicating with their learners, and for linking learners with each other so they can work together on projects and share their experiences.

However, not everyone has good computer skills when they start a new course, and for some people, learning these skills doesn't come easily.

This is particularly the case with older workers who had no exposure to computers when they went to school, and may not have had any need to use them since.

Before you rely on e-learning resources or internet-based forms of communication, make sure your learners have the necessary access to a computer and sufficient skills to use it. You may need to include some form of training in 'Information and Communication Technology', or ICT, as it is often called.

Some government-based funding bodies encourage ICT training as an adjunct to any funded workplace training program, because computers are now used almost everywhere, even in production jobs that were once far removed from digital technology.

Think about the characteristics of the learners you will be training, and the sorts of barriers that might hold back their progress.

How will these issues influence the way you deliver the training?

What extra support will you be able to offer the learners to help them overcome the barriers?