Spirus writes:
We asked:
- How training budgets are spent, including who benefits, and what the budget is spent on
- How much influence there is over what training is given, and how easy it is to find the right courses and trainers
And here’s what we found out:
Training Budget
Interestingly, training budget seems to be closely linked with company culture, and varies greatly with line of business. However, for all but one company, it is quite heavily limited. Some feel it is important to invest training budget in areas returning the greatest profit to the business, while others like 42 Technology think it important to focus more on people in their early careers, hoping to benefit from their skills and expertise for many years to come, improving staff retention and adding value to the company in the longer term. Among most businesses we spoke to, appraisals are often used to identify training needs which are then prioritised accordingly.
Even though training budgets were limited on the whole, it should be noted that all of the companies spoken to had a training budget, and recognised the importance of training for staff.
Influence
Most of the people we spoke to seemed to feel able to influence their training requirements, if they have a strong enough case. Exceptions occur where a company forms a part of a group managed elsewhere, or where Human Resource headquarters are based outside the UK. Under those circumstances, accessing training can be something of a mystery!
Trainers and training courses
As one might expect there seems to be ample access and training courses for managerial, administration and support staff. The courses and trainers most difficult to find – especially locally - tend to be the more technical or clinical courses, depending on the line of business. They also seem to be the most expensive. Occupational Health Services company, Corazon Health, is constantly finding new ways to locate these “hard-to-find” courses, using a well-known search engine or industry specific forums for help.
In Cambridge, we have a world renowned university and a highly innovative and rapidly expanding business community: so should we be encouraging more trainers to make Cambridge a UK training hub? Send us your thoughts…
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