From New Hires to Sales Pro: Training Paths for Every Team Member

It’s a situation you’ve probably found yourself in before. You’d like to explore training options for your team, but don’t know where to start. Or perhaps you’re not sure which education or training solution best fits your needs, timeline, or budget. With Fall being a perfect time to focus on staffing and training in advance of the busy selling season, here’s a quick refresher on all the ways GIA can help with your training needs.

Let’s start with onboarding. GIA NextGem™, our newest training addition, is a digital platform designed specifically for the onboarding of new hires. Onboarding is a topic we often hear about from retailers, usually in requesting solutions that free them up to spend their onboarding time focused on their own brand and selling ceremony rather than the basics of gems and jewelry. GIA NextGem™ allows you to essentially outsource the teaching of those basics to GIA. From diamonds to colored stones to the care and handling of jewelry, think of GIA NextGem™ as what a new hire would most need to know in order to be successful at the counter. GIA NextGem™ courses are composed of short, engaging video modules that employees can complete on a phone or desktop. GIA NextGem™’s 45-minute length and built-in knowledge checks ensure your employees learn what they should and become customer-ready very quickly.

After onboarding, you may want to develop expertise among more experienced team members. GIA offers many different options.

Among the most popular for retail staff is the Applied Jewelry Professional™ (AJP®) program. Comprised of three online courses—diamonds, colored stones, and jewelry—it’s a robust yet accessible professional development program. In addition to the online option, there is also an in-person option where the AJP® can be earned in five days, either on a GIA campus, or, for larger groups, at your location with a GIA instructor. GIA’s longer programs, such as the Graduate Gemologist® diploma program, can prepare your most expert staff for the most demanding consumers. Having five or more employees to enroll in either the AJP® courses or more advanced laboratory courses is one of the ways you can become a Corporate Education client and benefit from tuition discounts, an enrollment and tracking portal, and instructor support.

Outside of our accredited diploma programs and the most popular professional development program— the AJP®—GIA offers a plethora of additional professional development offerings, in the form of shorter, self-paced courses that can also help with training and more in-depth knowledge. Anyone is welcome to register for these courses, and you’ll find a wide variety available, from diamonds to colored stones to jewelry sketching and photography.

Finally, one of the more recent additions to GIA’s training portfolio is an option to create tailored training sessions. These are tailored programs created just for your business, and your specific needs. Imagine having an education day where a GIA instructor comes to your store to train your staff on topics of your choosing. Such sessions can be lecture-style, or hands-on with scopes and stones. It’s completely up to you! For further flexibility, these sessions can also be done virtually, with you and your staff tuning in to a live, exclusive presentation. No matter what stage you’re at, let us know how we can help. Training and education are more important than ever in the quest to stand out, build trust, and ultimately drive business. Reach out to us at marketdevelopment@gia.edu and we’ll be delighted to help you shine, this season and beyond.