As with any training, the content, objectives and duration depend on various issues including:
1. Complexity and skill level required to complete the task
2. The risk associated with the task in regard to food safety
3. The risk associated with the task in regard to occupational health and safety
4. The individual capabilities of the person e.g. special support to assist skills and knowledge transfer
Training costs money and is an investment by the company in its human resources to produce a product which can be marketed profitably. It can be tempting to cut costs in training since the impact of this is not always immediately felt.
In regard to training buddies, it is important to define the duration (and indeed other training requirement). This is usually based on a standard worker in standard conditions. From there it should be reviewed by management and indeed the training buddy to determine if competence has been achieved. Training times can be reduced or extended as appropriate. Just keep a record of the review and include this in your policy. This is a reasonable approach since standard training buddy times do not guarantee competence. Only the review can determine this.
George