Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 554
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 554 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 554
READING PASSAGE – 2
To all staff
This year we will be continuing our investment in training, and expanding the courses and conferences available. The following training sessions / days will be offered throughout the year. It is essential that you register your interest in any of the optional training days with your Department Head, line manager or supervisor as soon as possible.
| Course: | Health and Safety in the workplace level 1 |
| Details: | This course will take 2 hours a day over four days to complete. It is a mandatory requirement for all staff and covers the basic aspects of creating, maintaining and working in a safe environment. A government issued National Certificate will be awarded to all employees that complete this course. |
| Open to: | All employees |
| Allocation: | Mandatory for all employees that have not already completed the course |
| Location: | In company |
| Time: | 25th -28th January |
IELTS General Reading Test
| Course: | Health and Safety in the workplace level 2 |
| Details: | This course will take 2 hours a day over four days to complete. Attendance is optional but Completion of Health and Safety in the workplace level 1 is required before attendance. As with the Level 1 course, a government issued National Certificate will be awarded to all employees that complete this course. |
| Open to: | All employees |
| Allocation | Maximum 24 places |
| Location | In company |
| Time | 14th -18th February |
IELTS General Reading Test
| Course | Fork lift licence |
| Details | Half day course that leads to a level 1 forklift licence. All attendees must have a current driving licence. Attendance at two additional sessions will be required (to be scheduled) |
| Open to | Warehousing staff only |
| Allocation | Maximum 8 places |
| Location | Crown Fork Hoist Training, Alderman Street |
| Time | 22nd April |
IELTS General Reading Test
| Course | Conference : Motivating staff |
| Details | 3 day conference with guest speakers from different areas of business. Delegates will be required to stay overnight for two nights. All conference fees and accommodation will be covered with an allowance for meals. Partners can be taken but will incur an additional cost. |
| Open to | Department Managers only |
| Allocation | Maximum 12 places |
| Location | Landsdowne Hotel (2 nights’ accommodation provided) |
| Time | 2nd June – 5th June |
IELTS General Reading Test
| Course | Trax database system |
| Details: | A half day course focussing on how to use the new customer management database. |
| Open to | All secretarial staff |
| Allocation | Mandatory for all secretarial staff |
| Location | In company |
| Time | 16th July |
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 15 – 19
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
15. Attendees on the 3 day conference will be staying where?
16. Who is required to go to the training session on a new computer programme?
17. What will people completing the Health and Safety Level 1 course be awarded?
18. How many sessions do staff need to attend to obtain a fork lift licence?
19. Which training event can employees take wives or husbands to?
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer questions 20-29.
Induction programmes
Every organisation, large or small, should have a well-considered programme to introduce new employees to the company and help them build a degree of familiarity with their new workplace. This is referred to as an ‘induction’ programme and includes two specific aspects – , orientation, which focuses on getting the new employer familiar with the office environment, and socialisation which covers the establishment of building working relationships with their new colleagues.
However, designing an appropriate and cost-effective induction package can often be a huge challenge. A delicate balance has to be struck between providing all the information that new employees need (and are able to assimilate) without the employee being diverted from the essential process of integrating into their new environment.
IELTS General Reading Test
The purpose of induction is to ensure the effective integration of staff into the organisation and research has shown that induction programmes increase staff retention. In order to provide a good induction programme, the following elements need to be considered:
• Physical orientation – pointing out where the facilities are
• Organisational orientation – showing how the new arrival how they fit in the organisation’s strategy and goals
• Health and safety information
• Details of the organisation itself – history, products / services, culture and values
• A clear outline of the job/role requirements and an explanation of the terms and conditions of employment (although this could arguably have already been covered in the interview process)
IELTS General Reading Test
It is a common misconception that only new employees need an induction to the company. In fact, it has been proven that a specifically tailored induction can be of great value to current and former employees, such as those returning from long-term absence or maternity/paternity leave, senior appointments, or recently promoted staff. Tailor-made programmes should also be available for contractors brought in for a specific purpose.
The dangers of not having an induction programme were identified in a Harvard study, which found that new employees did not really understand the organisation itself or their role in it, in turn leading to
• poor integration into the team
• low morale, particularly for the new employee
• loss of productivity
• failure to work to their highest potential
In extreme cases, the new employee leaves, either through resignation or dismissal.
IELTS General Reading Test
The question of who should be involved in the creation and delivery of an induction programme is often left until to the Human Resources department, yet this has proven to lead to a generic ‘one size fits all’ type of induction, which has far less value than a more personalised approach. There will be slight variations between companies depending on size and variety of products or services, but the ideal approach seems to be an integrated induction requiring input from a number of areas within the company.
Typically, the inductee’s future manager or supervisor will oversee the explanation of departmental organisation, the requirements of the job, the purpose and operation of any probationary period and other internal processes. Human Resources would cover those aspects typically referred to as ‘housekeeping’ – this would include ensuring all contact details, payment details etc. had been recorded accurately. Explaining legal health and safety issues could also be covered by the HR department, although (if one has been appointed) this would ideally be the Safety Officer’s role.
IELTS General Reading Test
Many inductions make the common error of getting the manager or supervisor to provide an escorted tour of the department and introduce fellow workers, yet it has been found to be more beneficial for team building to actually nominate a colleague with roughly equal status in the company. These people also have been found best to give day-to-day guidance in local procedures for the first couple of weeks, as it creates a mentor-like arrangement giving the new employee someone to ask questions without having to repeatedly report to the manager.
Having given an explanation of the department’s role in the country, the direct manager should ideally then invite a senior manager to give an overview of the organisation, its history, products and services, quality system and culture. This allows the new employee to see the company as having a sense of horizontal integration.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 20 – 24
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
20. Induction programmes should consider orientation and ……………… of new employee.
21. Need to balance between the information given and keeping focussed on ……………… into the new workplace.
22. Inductions can also be useful for ……………… who are not directly employed but will be working with the company.
23. Research conducted in ……………… found that there is a link between morale and the induction programme.
24. The ideal induction should not be handled by ……………… alone.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 25 – 29
Match a responsibility from the list with the correct role A-E.
A. HR department
B. Manager / supervisor
C. Safety Officer
D. Colleague
E. Senior manager
25. The ideal choice for getting to know other staff
26. Responsible for collecting personal information
27. Covers aspects of law relating to the workplace
28. How the employee’s immediate environment is structured
29. The company’s organisation and background
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. LANDSDOWNE HOTEL
16. ALL SECRETARIAL STAFF
17. NATIONAL CERTIFICATE
18. 3
19. MOTIVATING STAFF
20. SOCIALISATION
21. INTEGRATING / INTEGRATION
22. CONTRACTORS
23. (A) HARVARD (STUDY)
24. HUMAN RESOURCES
25. D
26. A
27. C
28. B
29. E
IELTS General Reading Test