What is Quality Assurance Training?
Quality assurance training consists of activities and tasks that aim to properly train staff on proper quality assurance practices. Common training activities include meetings, seminars, hands-on practical sessions, and feedback sessions.
Importance
Quality assurance is essential to any business selling a product or service. It encompasses a set of processes designed to ensure that a product or service meets specified requirements and exceeds customer expectations from the development stages first. By upholding stringent standards and rigorous testing protocols, proper quality assurance acts as a safeguard against defects and deviations from intended outcomes.
As it often involves many tasks and people, having a dedicated training plan for quality assurance is a must. Regular quality assurance training ensures that all important and necessary steps are taken to ensure the quality of your product and service. Equipped with the right information and skills, employees are empowered to take charge in case of any sudden emergencies, issues, and deviations during the quality assurance process, as they will be equipped with the proper know-how on how to do so.
Having regular quality assurance training sessions also promotes a standardized way of working. By properly training and orienting workers on best practices, you can be assured that each product and service will be up to quality standards in all ways. The safety of employees at work is also assured with regular quality assurance training, as it also includes safety training.
Quality assurance training also provides the following benefits:
- Enhancing employee performance while improving their quality assurance skills
- Honing employees’ technical skill and problem-solving skills
- Documenting employee performance and progress, along with tasks and areas they struggle with
Quality Assurance Training vs Quality Control Training
Quality assurance and quality control are two important processes that work together but are not the same. Specifically, quality assurance is primarily focused on processes involved in producing or creating an output, while quality control is more focused on inspecting the output’s quality.
Training is necessary for both quality assurance and quality control. These concepts may also have specific areas that overlap, hence the similarities in how training is carried out as they work together.
However, quality assurance training will most likely consist of sessions focused on ensuring product or service development processes are flowing smoothly. On the other hand, quality control training will be more focused on evaluating a finished product or service ready for distribution.
What to Expect in Quality Assurance Training
Quality assurance training will often cover the following:
- The processes required for the creation and use of the output
- Safety procedures and emergency procedures
- Testing practices
- Specialized quality assurance tasks specific to each industry
- Soft skills such as:
- Active listening
- Problem-solving
- Efficient communication skills
- Time management
Training Methods
Often, quality assurance training is done in a classroom, seminar, or meeting-like format. This face-to-face approach provides a structured learning environment where students engage with instructors and peers, allowing for immediate clarification of doubts and real-time discussions.
With the advent of technology, online training sessions and training materials have gained prominence in the education landscape. Online quality assurance training programs from platforms like SafetyCulture’s Training offer flexibility, allowing students to learn at their own pace and from any location. Interactive modules, virtual labs, and discussion forums create a dynamic learning experience.
In recent times, online training sessions have become more famous. However, that is not to say that face-to-face learning is now obsolete, as many still prefer this method of learning. This, then, led to the creation of a more flexible learning experience.
With this method, the materials used in these online courses can also be utilized for face-to-face training programs, either as additional reference material or as the basis for the class.