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I.T. training budgets are making a resurgence, and I.T. departments are looking for the best places to invest training dollars. A lot is at stake. The prospect of baby-boomer retirement looms as a giant issue for enterprise and vendor I.T. organizations alike. Enterprise project loads and vendor marketplace pressures keep senior persons who could be mentors focused on projects.
In the United States, traditional bastions of learning such as colleges and universities are limited in the education they can provide by the expertise of the professors they have on staff and by the hardware and software that they have available for laboratories. While most university lab technology is based on
open source,
Linux,
and Unix — popular elements of today”s corporate I.T. landscape — courses centered upon systems
integration,
legacy system knowledge, and detailed network management are frequently missing. What can you do to train your workforce?
Training for the trenches
In 2005 and in the foreseeable future, training emphasis for enterprises and vendors should include practical topics that can immediately be applied to project work. Key areas companies are targeting for I.T. training include
network security
, network management and technical skills, systems migration, and expertise in off-the-shelf software purchased and then customized for corporate use.
Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and other legislative and legal requirements continue to make network security a major concern — especially if you are an I.T. professional in a heavily regulated industry such as financial services or
healthcare.
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At the same time, these new reporting requirements, combined with need for “data rich” information, will continue to drive system integration efforts. Training will be targeted at the various
middleware
platforms and tools that bring all of the data together, and at the end-to-end
network infrastructure
needed to make it all happen.
“Certifications will also continue to be very important,” said Claire Schooley, senior industry analyst for Forrester Research. “I.T. uses certifications as a means of qualifying network personnel for advanced skills in network implementation and support. Primary certification vendors that I.T. will go to for professional certifications include Microsoft,
Novell
,
Cisco
and
Oracle
. In 2006 these certifications will be changing to a more job-oriented focus; an evolution already underway in 2005.”
Schooley said Microsoft was now doing a complete revamp of its certifications because it feels I.T. already has too many that are too general in nature.
“They are evolving a new set of certifications that will serve a first tier, a second tier and an architect level of training in the hope that this will meet the needs of I.T. personnel better. This new training will be more targeted toward specific job codes,” she said.
Cisco is also in the process of revising its certification curricula to make it directly job-oriented and immediately applicable. Cisco has a curriculum that is calibrated to the various network jobs within the enterprise. The company also has a separate program for resellers, which Cisco qualifies for the installation of its products and services.
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Within the programs, Cisco has developed specific certifications for security and also for routing and switching, which has been transformed with the introduction of data-voice convergence technologies like
VoIP
(Voice over Internet Protocol).
Others are following suit. Novell, for example, has responded to demand for Linux expertise with targeted courses for a Linux Professional (first level) and a Certified Linux Engineer (advanced level).
Along with network and security certifications, I.T. dollars for “trench” training are being allocated to core applications that have been installed by third parties, which are now being turned over to I.T. staff for maintenance and expansion.
“I.T. is investing in training that the vendor or integrator provides once a capability is installed,” Schooley said. “Because I.T. can spend a lot of money on retaining consultant assistance for long periods of time, there”s a growing tendency during application installation to use consultants as trainers and mentors for staff, so that knowledge transfer can occur and staff can eventually take over.”
The return on investment from this strategy can be well argued. Savings realized from outside dollars for consultants who can be replaced by trained I.T. personnel once an application is installed can be attributed directly to the I.T. training investment. The I.T. shop has the added advantage of resident expertise customized to its own enterprise environment.
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In the end, I.T. is making training choices that equip staff with skills that are immediately transferable to the tasks at hand, and that contribute directly to improved department performance and results. With heavy workloads in a dynamic environment and growing expectations from the end business, there”s no other way.
“Companies have already been through a phase when they tried to “hire” skills,” said Katherine Jones of Aberdeen Group. “They found this didn”t always work because every company”s I.T. environment is unique, even if the companies are using similar hardware, software and networks.”
Staff Retention
While direct training investment in I.T. staff is a good investment, there are always I.T. managers who argue that once they train someone, the individual markets himself and gets hired by another company.
There”s no doubt that many employees who obtain formal network certifications have used the certifications as qualification leverage to join other organizations at higher salaries. However, surveys indicate that individuals who have defined career paths within their companies, defined sets of skills they must master, and corporate investments in their training, are more likely to remain at their sponsoring organization.
Optimizing training organizations differ and so do their training needs, but there are several strategies that seem to work for I.T. training in most organizations.
Focus on knowledge transfer. This means training that is not hands on and that can”t immediately be applied to the I.T. environment or project, faces serious potential for erosion. One week after training, individuals already begin to forget some of the training they”ve received — unless they are immediately applying it. When training is immediately applied to “real life” projects, the training is validated, the knowledge base is transferred, and the new skills are secured.
Establish a human element in training. Many I.T. organizations use computer-based courses because these courses don”t require internal instructor resources, and individuals can participate from anywhere at any time of day. However, even the most self-reliant and conscientious of students need a “real person” mentor to bounce ideas and questions off, or to work side by side with on a project. If you don”t already have one, create an internal “buddy” or mentor program.
Assess internal needs and develop career “tracks.” Sequences or ladders of instruction for particular positions within the I.T. organization are helpful because they give both I.T. managers and I.T. staff a vision of where the training ultimately goes, and for what sets of skills it provides mastery.
Most I.T. departments don”t have dedicated trainers. This is why it is advisable to work with corporate HR or training, which has skill in curriculum planning. Often, the I.T./HR collaboration is frustrating for both sides. HR doesn”t understand the technical requirements of the courses, and I.T. doesn”t understand curriculum planning. A productive partnership between I.T. and HR lets HR do the curriculum planning while I.T. defines the skills and knowledge areas to be mastered. Collaboration between I.T. and HR should be ongoing and frequent, with at least quarterly meetings. Partnering between I.T. and HR should never be done in a “hand off” fashion, where I.T. defines the training needs to HR, and then leaves HR to develop the curriculum without ongoing I.T. review.
Training is most effective for I.T. if it closely corresponds to the daily skills and project work of the department. For this to happen, I.T. departments need to take time to assess current and future skill set needs, determine which portions of the skill sets I.T. believes it can hire and which portions I.T. must internally “grow.” If possible, work with an area of the organization that is expert in putting together training programs.
Some I.T. departments are fortunate enough to have internal training expertise. Others exist in companies that don”t even have training experts in other departments. In the latter case, it could be highly beneficial to bring in an I.T. training consultant to assess I.T. training needs and skill levels, and then work with I.T. to prescribe a program.
Regardless of approach, if you are an I.T. manager responsible for staff training, the key is taking charge of your program and optimizing your training budget. There are so many training alternatives available in today”s marketplace that solutions can be found once you have a thorough understanding of today”s and tomorrow”s project and skill set needs (and where you want to go with them). Companies have already been through the phase when they tried to “hire” skills, and found this didn”t always work.
