What are your thoughts about On the Job Training (OJT) vs formal training?

OJT has always been an excellent form of training (when utilized correctly) both in the military and in the civilian sector (think apprenticeships) and have been successfully used both, in conjunction with, and in lieu of formal training depending on the job and circumstances.
Formal training is almost always preferred, at least as a 'baseline' but is not always practical.
I would state that the most important factor in the prevention of degeneration would be the selection of the trainer. As far as going generations without formal training, that would indeed become an issue, but I don't see this as a common problem. Equipment changes alone would normally require even experienced workers to receive some formal training along the way just to keep up.
Again, all generalizations here. Naturally things are much different between, say, a carpenter and a neurosurgeon. But those would be my thoughts in general.

There is no adequate substitute for OJT training in combat medicine, triage, and surgery . . . nothing else is comparable!

You can go to any school you like, try simulators etc . . . try to save pig lives . . . but there is nothing like trying to save wounded human lives in country . . . the heat, pressure, sights, sounds, textures, and smells are overwhelming . . .

Excellent question CPO Jon Campbell . I'm one that believes OJT is a good thing - if there is no other path available. Too many times in my career did I see some young sailor trying to get a "B" or "C" school but for one reason or another (usually command politics) there weren't enough billets available to get the sailor in the schools.

I agree - a bad set of intruction can lead to an improperly prepared tech. However, I've always wondered how the infamous shortcuts ever got started...obviously the shortcuts work or they wouldn't be passed on. Certainly I realize some shortcuts are dangerous. That reminds me of a situation on a ship I was on - the C.O. had decreed that only an electrician's mate could remove wiring from any piece of gear. Why? Because anyone without proper experience and knowlege might not test for current before disassembly. Makes sense, unless you have the pre-requisite knowlege and experience. One does NOT have to be an electrician to know how to properly ground, etc., and test with a meter on board a ship. The decree went so far as to limit the use of meters to ONLY EM's. Seriously?

But I digress. I think, if the person conducting the training (OJT) has been fully trained then, that's pretty much as far as you would want to go for anything beyond the basics or "A" school level. I certainly wouldn't want the OJT trainee to be the next instructor down the line until the OJT trainee got some formal schooling.