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Thread ID: 137148	2014-05-28 00:01:00	Budget shortfalls and little guys' training.	kingdragonfly (309)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1376061	2014-05-28 00:01:00	The following is my venting about budget cuts, and how the little guys gets shafted. At my current company, in last year's IT budget all training was cut. But, happy days, this year we got a training budget. Our CIO gave a speech emphasizing that all techs should pass at least one certification exam per year, and to that end, training was important. The good news is we had $17,000 budgeted for training. Elsewhere in the same organization, an executive out-sourced a project, before consulting the stake-holders or even lower level managers. My team had nothing to do with the project. The project only lasted 3 months before getting canned. No executive will say, but it probably was hundreds of thousands in wasted effort. My low-level manager was looking at our budget spreadsheet. He happened to notice it was recently modified and that our training budget went from $17,000 to zero overnight. When he confronted his embarrassed manager, he was told it was used to cover part of the cost of the project failure; no apology given. Similarly I have a friend who works for Wellington Hospital. After many years of receiving no training, he was supposed to attend a course. It had the extra benefit of being a local course; it is almost never given locally, only abroad. As the DomPost put it "Staff at Capital & Coast District Health Board are being asked to cut down on clinical supplies and overtime, and take a holiday within the next six weeks. It is part of a push to cram in as many savings as possible before the end of the financial year in the hope that the DHB will avoid blowing the budget." Anyhow, they cut his training. Because this course is almost never offered locally, he'll have to go abroad to take it, at much greater later expense. Short-sightedly they are "robbing Peter to pay Paul". If any organization's budget is "suddenly" blown, and there's no natural disaster or world-wide economic collapse, then executives managing the budget should be ejected from the country suddenly.	kingdragonfly (309)
1376062	2014-05-28 00:49:00	You are in a company that HAS a training budget (had?) think yourself lucky. Most small business's dont :( The PC repair company were I used to work was so bad, they gave the Junior tech a really hard time because he needed time off to go & sit his final exam for his MS Cert(that he paid for) :annoyed: Another friend got a job at a Technical help desk for a NZ software company. No training on this specialized product was ever given, he was just sat down in front of the ph on day1 & expected to help customers with software he had never seen before. Many companies see PC Techs as the only source of training . Its like asking your mechanic how to drive a car . Ive had clients(office secretaries) ring me up to ask how to use a USB stick (ie where to plug it in) . Training, pfft, who needs training.	1101 (13337)
1376063	2014-05-28 01:06:00	Even in the smallest company, it's unfair for a tech to have to pay for a passed exam. If you passed an exam, and it's work relevant, then the company benefits. Even if the argument is "passing an exam proves nothing", the sales people will be happy to say "our tech(s) are certified".	kingdragonfly (309)
1376064	2014-05-28 07:13:00	"Even if the argument is "passing an exam proves nothing", the sales people will be happy to say "our tech(s) are certified"." Well, if the sales people are happy, you should be happy. Why should you be paid for something that makes you happy? It is not as good as making the directors and the suits happy, but it is a good start. These little people are getting ideas above their station again, so a pay cut is probably in order. :devil	R2x1 (4628)
1376065	2014-05-28 21:00:00	Another friend got a job at a Technical help desk for a NZ software company. No training on this specialized product was ever given, he was just sat down in front of the ph on day1 & expected to help customers with software he had never seen before. . Sounds like Web Drive. They did read the intranet then go. I managed to get trained by a senior person, under the table so to speak, and eventually got the new people to sit each with a senior person instead of being left to fend for themselves....	pctek (84)
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