# How to get the training you've been waiting six months for.



## dcguy86 (Dec 14, 2022)

So, I have an issue and I don't know how to go about handling it. You all have been great at helping me before so here it goes. I've been in IB for a combined sixteen months over two stints in the department. I am the most tenured IB TM on my key. I have been asking my OMs for RC processor training for around six months. They kept putting it off since I was a trainer which I got, but with the hiring freeze, I figured I would ask again since we won't be getting new hires for a while. My OM told me that they couldn't commit because I may get pulled out of the department to ICQA or depal. They did ask me to give them a month to figure it out. Mind you this same OM apologized to me a few weeks prior because they said they knew I wanted the training but they kept putting other people ahead of me. I am at my wits end. Any advice will do.


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## Luck (Dec 15, 2022)

No good answer to that one. The only thing you can do is ask to speak with your SOM or maybe the Training OM and see if they can help leverage anything.


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## dcguy86 (Dec 15, 2022)

Luck said:


> No good answer to that one. The only thing you can do is ask to speak with your SOM or maybe the Training OM and see if they can help leverage anything.


My SOM will be the last option due to their arrogant attitude. Do you think PC would be of any help?


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## Luck (Dec 15, 2022)

dcguy86 said:


> My SOM will be the last option due to their arrogant attitude. Do you think PC would be of any help?


I think it would depend largely on their relationship with you as well as your OM. If they know you and you arent some random person begging them and the OM respects the PC then it might.


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## InboundDCguy (Dec 15, 2022)

You’re talking about driving in ART, right? Your DC has actual training for that? We just throw people there and see how they do.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Easily my least favorite function in IB.


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## Hal (Dec 15, 2022)

dcguy86 said:


> My SOM will be the last option due to their arrogant attitude. Do you think PC would be of any help?


OM's don't report to the PC. So there's very little guarantee that they will do anything. 

I would just be patient. There's some big changes coming to the training world that you should be hearing about fairly soon.


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## dcguy86 (Dec 15, 2022)

InboundDCguy said:


> You’re talking about driving in ART, right? Your DC has actual training for that? We just throw people there and see how they do.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> Easily my least favorite function in IB.


Training is done in the sense of just having someone mentor the new driver. I know the role because I went through all the job breakdowns when I started training. I've also covered (in the modified manual) when the drivers needed to take a break.  I drove in ART for a half hour at the end of my shift on Monday and I had no issues. I just want  the consistency


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## dcguy86 (Dec 15, 2022)

Hal said:


> OM's don't report to the PC. So there's very little guarantee that they will do anything.
> 
> I would just be patient. There's some big changes coming to the training world that you should be hearing about fairly soon.


Yeah, I just have a better relationship with the PC than I do my SOM (we butted heads when I was learning line loading in depal and they are just so arrogant its off-putting)

So they are changing the model again. The one they just rolled out last summer works well. The only thing I want is for the trainer needs to be able to do all functions in the department


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## Dcnewb4now (Dec 15, 2022)

I would be patient. If you are a good tm, they will get you the opportunity when they are able to. I wouldn’t expect anything until January. 

Going above your om to get something you want isn’t a good look. At the end of the day it’s the om’s discretion, but like I said if you are a tm in good standing, I don’t see them not training you intentionally.


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## WHS (Dec 15, 2022)

Hal said:


> OM's don't report to the PC. So there's very little guarantee that they will do anything.
> 
> I would just be patient. There's some big changes coming to the training world that you should be hearing about fairly soon.


Anything you could tell us about?  Im a trainer who’s a little frustrated with the training process as it sits now.


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## Hal (Dec 15, 2022)

WHS said:


> Anything you could tell us about?  Im a trainer who’s a little frustrated with the training process as it sits now.


Sorry its confidential and I don't want to reveal too much. But its a big change. 

You should find out by 1/8. Any OM's will find out by 12/21. Seniors and above already have the info.


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## Luck (Dec 15, 2022)

Hal confirmed either Training OM or Senior level or above 😁


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## dcguy86 (Dec 15, 2022)

Dcnewb4now said:


> I would be patient. If you are a good tm, they will get you the opportunity when they are able to. I wouldn’t expect anything until January.
> 
> Going above your om to get something you want isn’t a good look. At the end of the day it’s the om’s discretion, but like I said if you are a tm in good standing, I don’t see them not training you intentionally.


I agree, I won't be going above my OM. I think I'm frustrated because they apologized to me about skipping me over since I had expressed interest and then they continue to do so.


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## dcguy86 (Dec 15, 2022)

Hal said:


> Sorry its confidential and I don't want to reveal too much. But its a big change.
> 
> You should find out by 1/8. Any OM's will find out by 12/21. Seniors and above already have the info.


Appreciate and respect to you Hal. I think its ironic because my OM told me to give them four weeks to work out my request and that day is the exact time of four weeks.


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## WHS (Dec 16, 2022)

Hal said:


> Sorry its confidential and I don't want to reveal too much. But its a big change.
> 
> You should find out by 1/8. Any OM's will find out by 12/21. Seniors and above already have the info.


That’s fair.  I appreciate the time frame.  We don’t even have an OM as both of ours quit on us over a few weeks.


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## Yaz Pistasio (Dec 17, 2022)

Can someone proficient in the job you want to learn train? Or does it have to be an officially  trained ‘trainer”
‘I started a new position as a back up, got trained last week, she’s on vacation the next two, nobody wants to train me. Is it because of targets
policies or they just don’t want to be held accountable?


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## InboundDCguy (Dec 17, 2022)

Yaz Pistasio said:


> Can someone proficient in the job you want to learn train? Or does it have to be an officially  trained ‘trainer”


I’ve trained people on a lot of stuff and have never been a “trainer”.
If someone else wanted to train you and the OM thinks they’ll do a good job, they could, as long as it’s not PIT training.
If nobody is interested in doing it, they won’t usually force them to.


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## FrankM0421 (Dec 17, 2022)

Yaz Pistasio said:


> Can someone proficient in the job you want to learn train? Or does it have to be an officially  trained ‘trainer”
> ‘I started a new position as a back up, got trained last week, she’s on vacation the next two, nobody wants to train me. Is it because of targets
> policies or they just don’t want to be held accountable?



Yes.  They call it mentoring.  I've trained many.   But...  I've also had an OM tell others that I can't train them because I'm not a trainer but in reality they're just a lying POS that tells you they won't hold you back if you think you can advance but they are.


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## WHS (Dec 17, 2022)

FrankM0421 said:


> Yes.  They call it mentoring.  I've trained many.   But...  I've also had an OM tell others that I can't train them because I'm not a trainer but in reality they're just a lying POS that tells you they won't hold you back if you think you can advance but they are.


There’s a reason there’s an official trainer program.  Those OMs are correct that only official trainers should be doing the training


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## WHS (Dec 17, 2022)

InboundDCguy said:


> I’ve trained people on a lot of stuff and have never been a “trainer”.
> If someone else wanted to train you and the OM thinks they’ll do a good job, they could, as long as it’s not PIT training.
> If nobody is interested in doing it, they won’t usually force them to.


OM shouldn’t have anyone train that isn’t an official trainer.  PIT or not


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## Yaz Pistasio (Dec 17, 2022)

The trainer does ESIM/ blood born pathogens test with teammate then they send them to damages for me to train. I’m not a fan, feel like i don’t have a choice


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## FrankM0421 (Dec 17, 2022)

WHS said:


> There’s a reason there’s an official trainer program.  Those OMs are correct that only official trainers should be doing the training



🤣 But I trained the trainers! The official training program as it is now is garbage and I hope whatever @Hal is hinting at is going to fix that.  If you can't hit numbers in a function how the fuck can you train someone else to?  There's no playbook for that. It's not on the sharepoint.  If you want someone to walk them in the door and tell them all the target bs and give them a little time on the machine and get comfortable cool. After that put them with someone who can actually do the job successfully instead of some dumbass who's just reciting a basic simplified job breakdown from a piece of paper but can't give any pointers so they can be productive and meet\exceed expectations.


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## InboundDCguy (Dec 17, 2022)

FrankM0421 said:


> 🤣 But I trained the trainers! The official training program as it is now is garbage and I hope whatever @Hal is hinting at is going to fix that.  If you can't hit numbers in a function how the fuck can you train someone else to?  There's no playbook for that. It's not on the sharepoint.  If you want someone to walk them in the door and tell them all the target bs and give them a little time on the machine and get comfortable cool. After that put them with someone who can actually do the job successfully instead of some dumbass who's just reciting a basic simplified job breakdown from a piece of paper but can't give any pointers so they can be productive and meet\exceed expectations.


Yup, that about sums it up right there.


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## WHS (Dec 18, 2022)

FrankM0421 said:


> 🤣 But I trained the trainers! The official training program as it is now is garbage and I hope whatever @Hal is hinting at is going to fix that.  If you can't hit numbers in a function how the fuck can you train someone else to?  There's no playbook for that. It's not on the sharepoint.  If you want someone to walk them in the door and tell them all the target bs and give them a little time on the machine and get comfortable cool. After that put them with someone who can actually do the job successfully instead of some dumbass who's just reciting a basic simplified job breakdown from a piece of paper but can't give any pointers so they can be productive and meet\exceed expectations.


That sounds like you just have trash trainers.


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## FrankM0421 (Dec 18, 2022)

WHS said:


> That sounds like you just have trash trainers.



A couple idiots had to sign papers to make it happen though.


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## Dcnewb4now (Dec 22, 2022)

Hal said:


> Sorry its confidential and I don't want to reveal too much. But its a big change.
> 
> You should find out by 1/8. Any OM's will find out by 12/21. Seniors and above already have the info.


Interesting developments. Definitely good for training.


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## Gabrigawr (Dec 22, 2022)

Dcnewb4now said:


> Interesting developments. Definitely good for training.


It really is. I've caught wind of it and will say it's a very good change.


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## WHS (Dec 22, 2022)

Gabrigawr said:


> It really is. I've caught wind of it and will say it's a very good change.


Now I’m going to get my hopes up just to get extremely disappointed


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## Gabrigawr (Dec 22, 2022)

WHS said:


> Now I’m going to get my hopes up just to get extremely disappointed


Honestly I don't think you will


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## WHS (Dec 22, 2022)

Gabrigawr said:


> Honestly I don't think you will


There’d have to be massive changes.  Removing the stupid all day driving PIT around which is a waste of time.   More input by trainers on the training process.  Less OM telling us to train random people who have no business being trained

… and some kind of incentive to be a trainer god damn it lol


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## Gabrigawr (Dec 22, 2022)

WHS said:


> There’d have to be massive changes.  Removing the stupid all day driving PIT around which is a waste of time.   More input by trainers on the training process.  Less OM telling us to train random people who have no business being trained
> 
> … and some kind of incentive to be a trainer god damn it lol


Lol like Hal I will not say but bog changes. I could agree with the all day training but than again I agree that we should have all day training based off of experience.


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## Dcnewb4now (Dec 24, 2022)

WHS said:


> There’d have to be massive changes.  Removing the stupid all day driving PIT around which is a waste of time.   More input by trainers on the training process.  Less OM telling us to train random people who have no business being trained
> 
> … and some kind of *incentive to be a trainer* god damn it lol


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## Grunt (Dec 27, 2022)

dcguy86 said:


> Yeah, I just have a better relationship with the PC than I do my SOM (we butted heads when I was learning line loading in depal and they are just so arrogant its off-putting)
> 
> So they are changing the model again. The one they just rolled out last summer works well. The only thing I want is for the trainer needs to be able to do all functions in the department


What were you doing wrong when you were line loading?


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## dcguy86 (Dec 28, 2022)

Grunt said:


> What were you doing wrong when you were line loading?


Nothing, it was my first-night line loading and they thought I should know everything. I had just started the period and was being given job instructions since it was my first time.


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## Yaz Pistasio (Dec 30, 2022)

i got icqa back up. they trained me for a week, i guess they put my training on hold because my trainer went on vacation, she came back, nothing… no mention of any future training. I haven’t asked why.. i shouldn’t have to…its not my place. is this normal?


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## InboundDCguy (Dec 30, 2022)

Yaz Pistasio said:


> i got icqa back up. they trained me for a week, i guess they put my training on hold because my trainer went on vacation, she came back, nothing… no mention of any future training. I haven’t asked why.. i shouldn’t have to…its not my place. is this normal?


Fairly normal, yeah. You should ask about it, be your own advocate. I get that you shouldn’t need to, but everyone has so much crap going on all the time that coordinating training isn’t going to be high on their priority list unless you push for it.


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## Yaz Pistasio (Dec 31, 2022)

CA was still picking Tuesday on Friday, that might have something to do with it, i will ask though… just didn’t want to be a pest.. thanks!


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## InboundDCguy (Dec 31, 2022)

Yaz Pistasio said:


> CA was still picking Tuesday on Friday, that might have something to do with it, i will ask though… just didn’t want to be a pest.. thanks!


Could’ve just been that. If your home dept is behind then the PC won’t want them to be down a TM.


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## Yaz Pistasio (Dec 31, 2022)

Ya they asked for me a week ago… my OM said no. Frustrating.. I want to learn it


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## Dcnewb4now (Dec 31, 2022)

Yaz Pistasio said:


> Ya they asked for me a week ago… my OM said no. Frustrating.. I want to learn it


Business needs come first. Not sure where your dc is located, but I’m sure are a bunch are behind due to weather this past week. Like you said, they were roughly 3 days behind. At that point they are in throughput mode. 

Have no fear, once they are caught up this week you should be able to get training in. I feel it’s going to get pretty ugly in January - may or so.


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## dcguy86 (Jan 4, 2023)

So, wanted to provide an update about the original post. I talked to my OM again and had a heart-to-heart. They explained it as they have a lot going on (onboarding a new OM for the x number of times in two years) and they feel like I can handle it. I am also spread very thin because of knowing so much...They want me to learn organically by putting me down on the line and working with the driver to get time.  But there was more, I also learned that I was the only person to put in for the backup LWW in the department, and they felt that was also going to take more precedence than what I wanted.  I am, also going to be working with the consolidation team after training and will be getting PIT trained on the two pieces of equipment that I wasn't allowed to learn or in the case of the one-piece PIT had trash training on. So, I'll be working on a lot over the next few months, and when I'm not in the backup role or wearing any one of my many other hats  I may be staffed as an RC processor.


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## WSX37 (Jan 5, 2023)

We learned that trainer position is becoming a merit position and we will have 10 per shift who cover all departments.
Thats going to go well, we have warehousing trainers who can barely earn 40% in any function in warehousing,  just wait if you thought it was the blind leading the blind.
Im sure it will be the 10 who are the OM's BFFFFFFF's.   Plus if they interview im sure people from other keys will switch keys just to get a merit job with no mandatory OT.
This is going to be great.  Its an absolute train wreck in my DC right now, this is going to be like scorched earth.

Then the lead Warehouse workers are all going to merit 3 starting Feb 5.  They are all pissed because they were told they won't be eligible for the annual merit raise or STI bonus this year plus they won't get the bonus the regular warehouse workers are getting in march/april for not getting a raise in the past year.  Plus they are losing OT.

They just keep making great decisions.

We were beyond dead this past weekend and instead of catching up on training we had an army of idiots sweeping, groups of 6-10 wondering the travel aisles blocking everybody with one sweeping and the rest just following.


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## InboundDCguy (Jan 5, 2023)

Well, I guess the LWWs get a crash course in the crap side of merit positions! On the bright side, nobody in merit is going to be getting much of a bonus this year anyway, so they’re really not losing much!


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## Dcnewb4now (Jan 5, 2023)

WSX37 said:


> We learned that trainer position is becoming a merit position and we will have 10 per shift who cover all departments.
> Thats going to go well, we have warehousing trainers who can barely earn 40% in any function in warehousing,  just wait if you thought it was the blind leading the blind.
> Im sure it will be the 10 who are the OM's BFFFFFFF's.   Plus if they interview im sure people from other keys will switch keys just to get a merit job with no mandatory OT.
> This is going to be great.  Its an absolute train wreck in my DC right now, this is going to be like scorched earth.
> ...


Trainers aren’t merit so they will be eligible for ot. The dedicated trainer role is definitely a step in the right direction with incentivizing training. 

The leads I’ve spoken to for the most part are happy with the change. They received a raise from the get go and will then get A 9 box next year. Bonuses this year will be nonexistent but the hope is that by taking care of inventory issues at once, next year will be better (fingers crossed). The ot would probably have bothered me when I was a Lww. My last year I worked roughly 450 hours of ot. I was making more than most om’s and working less average hours.


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## whsDCII (Jan 5, 2023)

"A 9 box"?


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## Grunt (Jan 5, 2023)

WSX37 said:


> We learned that trainer position is becoming a merit position and we will have 10 per shift who cover all departments.
> Thats going to go well, we have warehousing trainers who can barely earn 40% in any function in warehousing,  just wait if you thought it was the blind leading the blind.
> Im sure it will be the 10 who are the OM's BFFFFFFF's.   Plus if they interview im sure people from other keys will switch keys just to get a merit job with no mandatory OT.
> This is going to be great.  Its an absolute train wreck in my DC right now, this is going to be like scorched earth.
> ...


Housekeeping is important, however we should be training a lot of these people on the broom and dustpan so they are actually cleaning and not doing the aimless walk around the warehouse.


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## WarmBody (Jan 5, 2023)

I really am torn about the training situation. My DC only had a couple of trainers for warehouse over the past few years and when they were on that huge hiring spree they complained that they were sick of training every time they worked. These were people that enjoyed training the new hires before that started happening. So how's that going to go once that's all a person does? Will they get sick of it? Will people in those positions just quit from burnout or will they post back to production (which is an option for them)? What's the thinking behind thinking people will enjoy just training day in and day out, every shift until the end of their Target careers?


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## WHS (Jan 5, 2023)

WarmBody said:


> I really am torn about the training situation. My DC only had a couple of trainers for warehouse over the past few years and when they were on that huge hiring spree they complained that they were sick of training every time they worked. These were people that enjoyed training the new hires before that started happening. So how's that going to go once that's all a person does? Will they get sick of it? Will people in those positions just quit from burnout or will they post back to production (which is an option for them)? What's the thinking behind thinking people will enjoy just training day in and day out, every shift until the end of their Target careers?


Exactly why I stepped down immediately on hearing about it.  I enjoy training I do.  But I have zero interest in doing it non stop


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## dcguy86 (Jan 5, 2023)

WHS said:


> Exactly why I stepped down immediately on hearing about it.  I enjoy training I do.  But I have zero interest in doing it non stop


Exactly what I'll be doing.....I do not want to just train as much as I enjoy it I can't do it daily


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## dcguy86 (Jan 5, 2023)

Any word on start date of that training thing and are backup leads going merit?


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## whsDCII (Jan 5, 2023)

dcguy86 said:


> Any word on start date of that training thing and are backup leads going merit?


Backup leads are not going merit


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## Dcnewb4now (Jan 5, 2023)

whsDCII said:


> "A 9 box"?


Part of the review process. To help determine where the tm ends up and with what raise percentage.


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## DC Diva (Jan 6, 2023)

Just like the training specialists, another whole new group to wander around with clipboards, trying to look important. Because, creating the training specialist position was already supposed to fix things.  Usual Target plan is to throw money and important sounding titles to fix whats broken.


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## Luck (Saturday at 2:19 PM)

The problem with trainers before was that they were too far removed from the actual job. This is a dumb decision!! Nunber one complaint I hear from new hires is the trainer cant actually show them how to do the job in a real setting proficiently lmao.


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## Grunt (Sunday at 7:07 PM)

Luck said:


> The problem with trainers before was that they were too far removed from the actual job. This is a dumb decision!! Nunber one complaint I hear from new hires is the trainer cant actually show them how to do the job in a real setting proficiently lmao.


Maybe this new role will change that issue. I believe the trainers are still going to be part of production. If management decides to choose candidates that actually work then the complacent trainer is no longer a thing 🤞.


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