Kingston Communications, winner in the
utilities and telecoms category in Computer Weekly's Best Places to
Work in IT 2007, has re-branded itself as the Kcom Group and is
continuing initiatives to develop staff and graduates.
Since last year, Kcom provided 2,500 employees with 3,643
job-related training courses and 1,603 external technical training
courses on technology from partners including
Nortel and
Cisco. It also provided 480 tailored management and personal
development courses to support career progression.
"Kcom has helped my career development by retraining me in
Prince2 project management methodology (foundation and
practitioner) and subsequently the tailored developing management
excellence course.
"I have also been lucky enough to be sponsored on the executive
MBA programme at Hull University Business School," said Paul
Murphy, senior project manager, group IT at Kcom.
"Our graduate programme develops graduates through the first two
years of their career, moving them through departments to develop a
broad understanding of IT," said Dean Branton, IT director at
Kcom.
Branton said that training and development is central to the
development of staff and the team. Over the past three years, more
than 90 members of staff have gained ITIL accreditation, eight
members of staff have gained Prince practitioner qualifications and
two have gained Prince foundation levels. One member of staff has
gained ISEB requirements engineering training.
Kcom Group also provides development plans tailored to support
personal and job development needs. Part of this is its performance
appraisal programme, where employees have an opportunity to sit
down and have a one-to-one with their line manager, discuss their
career aspirations and agree on a personal development plan.
In the past two years there have been six secondments within
Group IT and into the business, and 17 internal promotions within
Group IT.
Computer Weekly Best Places to Work in IT awards
2008
Computer Weekly is gearing up to host its fifth annual Best
Places to Work in IT competition, which aims to find the UK's best
managed IT departments.
Departments that provide a positive working environment,
continuous professional development and a good work/life balance
stand to gain from entering the competition.
By highlighting and applauding the best IT employers, the awards
are part of Computer Weekly's drive to find and promote best
practice in IT departments across the country.
Previous entrants have found that simply entering the awards
brings benefits. The entry process allows managers to take stock of
the way the department operates. Plus, the profile of the
department can be raised both internally and externally, motivation
and retention of staff can be increased, and recruitment can become
easier.
There are several categories for IT departments of all sizes.
The deadline for entries is Friday October 5, and the winners will
be announced at an awards ceremony in March 2008.