Norwich Union has outsourced training management for
2,000 IT staff to training provider QA in a contract that is
expected to save the insurance company up to 30% on training
costs.
The deal covers administration and delivery of training, course
booking, evaluation and training provision through third-party
suppliers for 1,000 IT professionals in the Norwich Union Life and
Norwich Union Central Services (NUCS) divisions.
Diane Rodgerson, organisation development and learning manager
at NUCS, said the company had always used external suppliers for
face-to-face IT staff training, but the contract would turn ad hoc
arrangements into a formal relationship through a
single managed training service.
The deal is expected to bring substantial savings for Norwich
Union through the consolidation of course bookings as well as
reduced administration costs.
QA will act as a one-stop shop, providing off-the-peg training
from its own range of courses as well as buying in training from
third-party suppliers where necessary. It will also handle course
bookings and evaluation.
“We will have the benefit of dealing with only one company, but
sourcing training from several, and taking advantage of the
reduction in costs that QA can provide via multiple bookings,” said
Rodgerson. “We are looking at 25% to 30% savings on our previous
spend.”
Norwich Union said courses provided through QA will include
training in the Prince 2 project management method at foundation
and practitioner levels, a full range of Microsoft courses –
including implementing and supporting Windows XP Professional
desktop systems – along with IBM, Tivoli and Cics courses. Training
for the BCS Iseb foundation certificate in IT service management
will also be provided.
Individual staff and training managers at Norwich Union will be
able to book training through an online booking system with
real-time course information. The internet-based system will not
require any new IT systems to be installed.
The firm’s requirement is for face-to-face training. The booking
system will include intelligent scheduling, bringing together
individual training requests where possible and scheduling a group
training event in a convenient location for several staff.
“That reduces the costs in training and also in travel and
accommodation,” said Rodgerson.
Gary Cannon, business learning manager for business services at
Norwich Union Life, said, “IT departments benefit by having
properly trained people with the right skills, thereby increasing
the quality and reliability of their software and processes.
“Individuals benefit by being more able to achieve their desired
career path and by having up-to-date skills. This leads to a
feeling they are being actively developed, and we know from
feedback this is a big morale booster.”