I currently work for a large corporation. This is not 100% normal for everything. This wasn't a training, this was the fundamental employment status of the employee. I don't need to sign any paperwork to accept a raise or promotion, etc. I've never been put on a PP but I'm guessing my company wouldn't require the employee to handle any paperwork if they came off of it either.

Luckily our training system sounds more streamlined than yours. Different strokes for different companies I guess.