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Formal training programs are required by law for pilots, doctors, and nuclear plant operators. Discrete and process manufacturing industries clearly need to train operators even if there are no regulatory requirements for training. Putting an untrained operator in a responsible position for a complex manufacturing asset is unthinkable. Many accident or post trip investigations point to a lack of operator training as a contributing cause, but you cannot easily claim a particular operator-training program will avoid accidents, improve business performance, or reduce trips. Many factors influence operator effectiveness. Objective measures can be hard to come by, but in the OTS (Operator Training Simulator) session at the ARC forum in Feb 2016, Ron Cisco did provide such data. The table below gives some insight into operator effectiveness and the impact of a particular training program using rigorous dynamic models. The figure below shows data from 1979 at the Salt River power plant. Since 1979, every plant trip has been reviewed and operator error is one of the possible causes. 
In this figure, you can see two major events and the resultant reduction of trip events due to operator error. In the 1993-1995 period, a new DCS was installed at the facility. In the years that followed trips due to operator error fell considerably. In 2011, a training program using a dynamic simulator was implemented and the trips due to operator error were relatively low in the years that followed. This is consistent with a recent ARC operator effectiveness study that rated the control system (HMI, controls, alarms) as the most important tool for improving operator effectiveness and OTS systems also have a big impact. In his presentation Ron noted that using the OTS for training with a virtual control system uncovered many defects in the control system configuration. Using a dynamic simulator in a manner that matches actual process operation turns out to be the most effective way to test control systems. Perhaps this data can help to justify a more comprehensive operator-training program.
In this figure, you can see two major events and the resultant reduction of trip events due to operator error. In the 1993-1995 period, a new DCS was installed at the facility. In the years that followed trips due to operator error fell considerably. In 2011, a training program using a dynamic simulator was implemented and the trips due to operator error were relatively low in the years that followed. This is consistent with a recent ARC operator effectiveness study that rated the control system (HMI, controls, alarms) as the most important tool for improving operator effectiveness and OTS systems also have a big impact. In his presentation Ron noted that using the OTS for training with a virtual control system uncovered many defects in the control system configuration. Using a dynamic simulator in a manner that matches actual process operation turns out to be the most effective way to test control systems. Perhaps this data can help to justify a more comprehensive operator-training program.