IT training managers in the UK are paid less than their IT
department colleagues. Bill Goodwin reports
Questions have been raised about employers' commitment to IT
training following the publication of research which shows that IT
training staff are paid significantly lower salaries than other IT
professionals.
A survey by the Institute of IT Training found that IT training
managers earn, on average, £34,000 a year - nearly £10,000 less
than the typical IT manager; £4,000 less than operations managers;
and £3,000 less than project managers.
"Corporates don't value the training function as they should," said
Colin Steed, chief executive of the Institute for IT Training. "A
properly developed training department can grow the company. You
could argue that they are more important than other parts of the
business that are more highly paid."
The research shows that corporate IT training staff are also poorly
paid in comparison with staff working for specialist IT training
companies, raising fears that the best corporate IT training staff
will eventually come under pressure to leave for better paid jobs
with IT training specialists.
The survey of 242 training professionals shows that training
companies pay average salaries of £30,280 compared to an average
salary of only £28,840 in corporate training departments.
The Institute of IT Training argues that professionally-qualified
IT trainers should be paid as much as other IT professionals,
particularly when they have management responsibilities.
"An IT training manager should be on par with an IT manager," said
Steed. "The responsibilities of IT training managers are huge. They
need to be involved at the beginning of IT projects. They are an
integral part of systems implementation."
Employers often skimp on providing training for their training
staff, the research suggests. Training staff typically receive an
average of nine and a half days training a year, made up of almost
six days product training and three days "training skills"
training. Training managers only receive three days training a
year.
But the institute's claims have been met with scepticism by IT
directors who say they are not convinced that paying training staff
higher salaries will lead to a better standard of IT training in
their companies.
"Who are you going to get to become trainers? It's not necessarily
the person who's a damned good programmer or analyst. If they get
their thrill from designing systems, they are not going to want to
become trainers," said Roger Ellis, IT management consultant.
"Everyone would like to earn good money, but £35,000 is a good
salary," he added.
Ellis, who has had extensive experience deciding pay scales as an
IT director, said that salaries should depend on three components:
know-how, problem-solving and accountability.
"A training person will need a lot of know-how but not a lot of
problem-solving. If you have someone with an IT role they may not
be accountable, but they need a lot of know-how and problem-solving
ability," he said.
The survey shows that qualification levels among IT training
professionals are increasing, with 82% now having professional
qualifications compared with 10% five years ago.
Supplier-driven training schemes such as Microsoft's MCT programme
are the most popular qualifications, followed by the Institute for
IT Training's Trainer Assessment Programme and the Chartered
Institute of Personnel Development's Certificate in Training
Practice.
Although salaries are low, corporate trainers often qualify for
good benefits packages. Forty four percent have life insurance,
76%, pensions, 20% company cars, half have private health insurance
and 40% receive annual bonuses.