---
id: "concept-train-in-place"
type: "concept"
source_timestamps: ["§ Employees Want to Reskill—When It Makes Sense"]
tags: ["training-methodology", "on-the-job-learning"]
related: ["concept-vocational-residency", "action-integrate-training-into-work"]
definition: "A reskilling methodology that integrates learning directly into the flow of work via shadowing and apprenticeships, rather than relying on separate classroom instruction."
sources: ["reskilling"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-reskilling"
originDay: 10
articleStem: "hbr-edu-34-reskilling-in-age-of-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2023/09/reskilling-in-the-age-of-ai"
sourceTitle: "Reskilling in the Age of AI"
---
# Train in Place

The **train-in-place** model is a reskilling methodology in which employees acquire new skills while remaining in their current context or through direct, hands-on integration into the workflow, rather than being pulled away for extended classroom learning.

**CVS** uses this model for new employees to reduce the friction, risk, and logistical cost of reskilling. It aligns with BCG ([[entity-bcg-d34]]) survey data showing **65% of adults prefer to learn on the job** (see [[claim-on-the-job-preference]]). Effective train-in-place strategies rely on **shadowing assignments, internal apprenticeships, and trial periods**, which accommodate adult learning preferences better than academic environments.

It is the more intensive sibling of [[concept-vocational-residency]] and is operationalized by [[action-integrate-training-into-work]].

**Enrichment note.** Train-in-place is grounded in adult-learning research — Kolb's experiential learning theory and the "learning by doing" tradition — and in active/hands-on practice literature arguing that passive instruction (lectures, videos) alone is insufficient to build applied skills.