UNIT

Cambridge University Press

978-1-107-63983-6 Business Benchmark Upper Intermediate
Guy Brook-Hart
Excerpt
More information

Staff development and training

Getting started

Recruitment brochure

Work in pairs. Which of these benets of working for a

company would you nd most attractive? Why?

Reading

a bonus scheme
responsibility
a high salary
an in-house training
scheme

the opportunity to travel

a permanent contract
long holidays
rapid promotion

2 Read the text below quite quickly.

Useful language
Giving opinions agreeing and disagreeing
I think

would be the most attractive because

Im not sure about that. For me,

than

1 Work in pairs. You are going to read an extract from

the recruitment page of a travel companys website.
Before you read, discuss what training you think
university graduates might need when they rst join
a company like this.

would be more useful

because

Perhaps youre right. And I dont think

is as important

as

1 What training does Flight Centre offer new staff?

2 Why does Flight Centre think staff training is so
important?
Flight Centre
This company has been offering advice and making travel
arrangements for customers since it opened its first store in
Australia in 1981. It is now one of the worlds largest and most
successful independent travel retailers, with 1,700 stores around
the globe.

GO ANYWHERE
YOU WANT TO GO

A t Flight Centre, we believe in giving you a lot of

responsibility from day one, so one of our main priorities is to
make sure you get the training and support you need to
the skills which will allow you to succeed.
1
Training starts as soon as you 2
and it never
partly at your
stops. The initial programme is 3
office and partly in our dedicated Learning Centre. For
the first 12 months, youll have a regular programme of
topics as diverse as Advanced Sales,
training, 4
Goal Setting and Time Management.
After that, you can develop in any direction you choose by
a range of courses and events in key areas: Sales
5
and Service, Products and Airfares, Systems, and Personal
to you. We
Development. All this is provided at no 6
of promoting from inside the
have a consistent 7
company; currently about 90 per cent of our Team Leaders
have come through the ranks, and we want to keep it that
.
8

Were also keen to train the leaders of the future with our
Leadership Development programme. Its an intensive
up by specialist project work.
training course 9
After all, becoming a high flier in any company shouldnt
be about just waiting to shuffle up the ladder. Here, the
best people develop as far as they like, as fast as they
like. We hope youll be one of them. And the success of
our philosophy of cultivating personal and 10
development, as well as promoting from within, has earned
us a Training and Development award for excellence, as
voted by our employees.
adapted from www.therecruitmentcentre.com

Staff development and training

in this web service Cambridge University Press

www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press

978-1-107-63983-6 Business Benchmark Upper Intermediate
Guy Brook-Hart
Excerpt
More information

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A

win
join
situated
dealing
going
money
record
type
set
career

B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B

C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

gain
recruit
located
covering
assisting
payment
reputation
sort
backed
work

earn
contract
based
learning
having
cost
activity
kind
held
life

D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D

collect
employ
fixed
working
attending
price
standard
way
kept
profession

Speaking
Work in small groups.
1 Would you like to work for a company like Flight Centre?
Why? / Why not?
2 Which of these statements do you agree/disagree with?
Why? / Why not?
Companies should pay for training to do the job, but staff
should pay for training which gives them qualifications.
Training should be done in employees free time.
If a company trains you, you should agree to work for that
company for a number of years afterwards.
All staff need continuous training not just new recruits.
It doesnt matter what you study. The important thing is
to get a good degree.
Useful language
Saying how much you agree/disagree
I partly/completely/totally agree with
I completely/totally disagree with

because I think/feel that

because

Vocabulary 1
Check the meanings of these words, then use them to
complete the sentences below.
certificate course degree development
experience knowledge qualifications skills
1 Our training programme aims to teach you key skills such
as using spreadsheets.
2 Although he lacks any formal
, such as a
university degree, hes now one of our best managers.
3 The
you study for at university is likely to decide
the sort of job you do afterwards.
4 At the end of the four-week training
, you will
receive a
. Youll gain a thorough
of the
companys activities. However, there are a lot of things which
you can only learn from the
youll get working here.
5 With our policy of professional
, we expect him to
soon become a manager.

Grammar workshop
Countable and uncountable nouns
Countable nouns [C] often use a or an in the
singular (a company, an office) and can be
plural (companies, offices).
Uncountable nouns [U] do not use a or an
and are always singular (information, advice).
Find these words in the reading passage
on page 8 and decide whether they are
countable (C) or uncountable (U).
1 responsibility U 2 training 3 programme
4 training course 5 work 6 excellence

page 24 Countable and uncountable nouns

Vocabulary 2
Business students often confuse these words:
work and job; training and training course. Look
at these extracts from the CALD. Then choose
the correct alternative in italics in the sentences
below.
work [U] something you do to earn money:
Hes looking for work.
job [C] used to talk about a particular type of
work activity which you do: Hes looking for a
job in computer programming.
training [U] the process of learning the skills
you need to do a particular job or activity
training course [C] a set of classes or a plan
of study on a particular subject

1 Due to your excellent job / work, you have

increased productivity by 25%.
2 She has also done an excellent job / work with
our staff, who are now working as a real team.
3 We havent enough people to deal with this
amount of job / work.
4 Wish me luck in my new job / work.
5 I have to go on a training course / training to
learn about the new safety regulations.
6 We need to give health and safety training
course / training to eight senior executives.
7 Is it possible to hold this training course /
training with just six trainees?

Staff development and training

in this web service Cambridge University Press

UNIT

3 Read the text again and choose the best option A, B, C

or D for each gap.

www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press

978-1-107-63983-6 Business Benchmark Upper Intermediate
Guy Brook-Hart
Excerpt
More information

UNIT

Training course
Listening
1 Work in pairs. You are going to listen to a short
conversation about a training course. Before you
listen, read the notes below and decide what type
of information you need in each gap.
Skills Development College

Had an enquiry from 1

Company.
Want an advanced computer course for their 2
Require a course lasting 3
.
Director of Studies should:
conduct needs analysis
give a 4
.

Listen and write one or two words or a number

in the numbered gaps in the notes.
1 01

3 Match these phrases (16) with their denitions

(af).
1 tailor-made
2 learning goals
3 training budget
4 hands-on training
5 computer literate
6 core skills

a practical, not
theoretical, training
b able to use a computer
c basic, essential skills
d money reserved for
training staff
e specially designed to
meet your needs
f your objectives when
doing the course

Training at Deloitte in China

Reading
Deloitte
A worldwide company offering management consultancy,
auditing and financial advisory services

1 Work in pairs. Read the article in the next column,

ignoring the gaps and the underlined words. What
is the subject of each paragraph?

Encouraging
employees

n each of the main offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong

Kong, Deloitte China has dedicated facilities known as
the Deloitte Institute training centres. Employees who
develop their careers within Deloitte believe that the benefits
are multiple. In Deloitte, some managers are only in their
early thirties, and this encourages young people like me, says
Shawn Su from the Tax Department. I think Deloitte offers
employees a clear upward path for development. 1 G
Charlotte Chen says, I knew Deloitte was different
when I fi rst came here for interview. During the interview,
Charlotte was impressed by the professionalism of the
Deloitte interviewers. They didnt act in a superior manner;
they were friendly and patient. 2
When Charlotte
was about to take her professional exams, her manager said,
With the test coming in June, you should take some days off.
You will have a better chance of passing if you have time to
study.
Attention from managers often works better than material
incentives. Jessica Li from the Audit Department recalls,
The third year with Deloitte was crucial, and passing my
exams was essential for my career. 3
What touched
me most was that they came to wish me good luck the day
before I took my study leave. I was very emotional to see
their concern. 4
Jessica says, Deloitte cares about
my personal development, and that suits me. Now, when I
get calls from headhunters, I tell them, I really like working
here and can develop my career within Deloitte. I dont need
to change environment.
Attention and recognition by management are elements
of Deloittes corporate culture. Shawn Su, who is about to be
promoted to manager, says he always gets an immediate reply
from his supervisors, no matter how late. They always say,
Thank you for working so late. Shawn says,
5
Now a manager-to-be, Shawn says, Ill follow in
the footsteps of my bosses, encouraging and paying attention
to my staff.
This is how Deloittes corporate culture is passed down
through the company. Every new recruit has a counsellor,
who guides them, helps them at work and cares about them.
6
Counsellors are like Deloitte second bosses.
Although they dont necessarily lead you directly when it
comes to work, they guide every Deloitte employee with
their own professional experience.

adapted from www.topemployers.com.cn

10

Staff development and training

in this web service Cambridge University Press

www.cambridge.org

2 Work in pairs.

a people who try to persuade someone to leave their job by

offering them another job with more pay and a higher
position
b buildings and equipment provided for a particular purpose
c something, especially money, which encourages a person
to do something
d the beliefs and ideas that a company has and the way
in which they affect how it does business and how its
employees behave
e time spent working beyond the usual time needed or
expected in a job
f when you are willing to give your time and energy to
something that you believe in

1 Look at the example given in gap 1. Why is

sentence G below the correct option to fi ll
the gap?
2 Choose the best sentence (AG) to fi ll each
of the gaps. Use the underlined words and
phrases in the sentences and in the text to
help you.
A At the time, my managers helped me apply
for training courses, and they let me take
time to attend training and to study.
B Interest and commitment from the
management retains talent.
C I thought, if my bosses are like these
people, Ill feel comfortable here.
D Jessica Li believes that it was a
recommendation from hers that gave her
the chance to work abroad.
E This policy has led to a great expansion in
Deloittes services.
F Young people dont mind doing overtime,
but we tend to feel frustrated when what
weve done is not recognised.
G This gives everyone the chance to ascend to
the top, as long as they remain committed
and perform well.

3 Discuss in small groups.

1 What positive aspects of working for
Deloitte are mentioned in the text?
2 Which ones do you think are most
attractive? Why?

Vocabulary
Match these words and phrases from the text
(16) with their denitions (af).
1
2
3
4
5
6

dedicated facilities
material incentives
headhunters
corporate culture
commitment
overtime

Training scheme for new staff

Role-play
1 Before you do this task, work alone and prepare by
making some brief notes about your ideas.
You work in the human resources department of a
company. Your company has decided to provide a
one-week training course for new employees. You have
been asked to help prepare the programme. Discuss
the situation with a partner and decide:
a what things the course should include;
b whether the course should be given by people
inside the company or by an outside organisation;
c whether the course should happen during work time
or free time.

Task tip
Consider the subject of each paragraph.
Look at words in the sentences which refer to
other things in the passage.

UNIT

Cambridge University Press

978-1-107-63983-6 Business Benchmark Upper Intermediate
Guy Brook-Hart
Excerpt
More information

Two business students discussed the task in

Exercise 1. Match these sentences (16) from their
discussion with points in the task (ac). Then listen to
check your answers.
1 02

1 How about getting them to spend two days learning how

our computer systems work?
2 Why dont we ask an external organisation?
3 I think another useful thing is to explain what to do when
they have a problem.
4 We could also spend some time introducing people in the
company.
5 What about holding the course for two hours every day,
from nine to 11 in the morning?
6 I suggest that on the fi rst day, we should explain what the
company does.
3 Study the underlined phrases in Exercise 2 and think how
you could use them when you discuss the situation.
4 Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss the situation using
your own ideas and some of the language from Exercise 2.

Staff development and training

in this web service Cambridge University Press

11

www.cambridge.org