IT departments are taking advantage of a training market
oversupply to drive some hard bargains for training their
workforce.
Companies boosted spending on training IT staff by 6% last year,
as demand for skilled staff rises from a three-year downturn. But
with more training companies vying for business than there are
customers, IT departments are driving prices down, research by IT
training consultancy Pardo Fox reveals.
Director David Pardo said, "The market is still down 24% from
its peak in 2000 and there is very strong price competition in many
areas. There remains a surplus of supply over demand."
But Pardo warned IT departments risked losing quality if they
drive down training prices too far. "There is a risk this approach
will be unsustainable in the long term. At the very least they
might expect the quality of training to be compromised. In the
worst case they might drive companies out of business," he
said.
Many leading IT training companies have not been profitable for
four years, and are only gradually beginning to move into profit,
according to the research.
The largest suppliers can offer IT departments a complete range
of services, including training needs analysis, skills assessments
of their workforce, and managed training services. But some
companies prefer to buy training on a piecemeal basis from smaller
suppliers, who may be able to match their training needs more
directly.
IT departments are still struggling with e-learning, and have
yet to find the right balance between learning online and classroom
teaching. "Many companies are still searching for the ideal blended
solution, which takes advantage of e-learning and classroom
learning. Attempts to blend them are relatively young," said
Pardo.
One problem is that few companies offer integrated training, so
IT departments often end up with classroom courses and e-learning
packages that don't match.
www.itskillsresearch.co.uk