http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/9803303D92

Tuition payments, in-house classes on decline, two new studies show

By Tim Ouellette
03/30/98 Training may be needed more than ever to keep scarce IT workers up-to-date on technology changes.

But don't expect all employers to foot the bill.

In fact, more than half of large information technology organizations don't offer tuition reimbursement or in-house training for IT workers, according to a new study by Meta Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. (see chart). The numbers reflect a major drop from last year. Another study, by Hay Group, Inc. in Philadelphia, produced similar results.

The cuts in training benefits to workers hurt retraining efforts worse than programs that train new workers, said Kerriann Vogel, an analyst at Meta Group. Those are workers who have been with a company for a few years and may need to update their certificates or expertise in a particular skill or move to a new skill.

Still, ``people are willing to pay for their own training to get certified and get the premiums paid for certain hot skills,'' Vogel said.

For example, Steven Jenkins, a programmer at a software house in Dallas, paid for his own Windows NT training to get certified and help attract more work to the company, he said.

CORPORATE REASONS

Why do some companies make employees pony up their own training dollars? Many of them are dipping into their training budgets to fund year 2000 and software rollout projects; some are spending more money on salaries and bonuses to get pretrained workers; and at some where jobs are unfilled because of the IT skills shortage, workers are tied to their desks handling a heavier load.

And with a large chunk of training budgets in the hands of business units instead of information systems, technical training can get shortchanged in the bargain.

Rather than building effective training programs, some corporate purchasing departments often focus on getting the most training for the dollar, said Lynne Hambleton, manager of learning systems at Xerox Corp. in Rochester, N.Y.

``They need to look at it from a value-add to find out if workers could come out more independent and valuable as a result of the training,'' Hamble-ton said.




But companies that skimp on training may pay for it in the long run.




``Training is a top retention vehicle, and career development is the No. 1 stay item for workers,'' said Linda Pittenger, a vice president and managing director of IT consulting at Hay Group.




That means companies that focus on reskilling are keeping valuable people on staff for future projects and attracting new workers, she added.P




SIDEBAR:


Tax code changes




Congress is taking steps to simplify the tax laws imposed on independent computer consultants and to make it easier for companies to hire those people for time-critical and short-staffed projects.




A spokesman for Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., last week confirmed that the senator is prepping legislation to repeal Section 1706 of the tax code.




Section 1706 requires that computer professionals fulfill a series of ambiguous rules before they can be classified as independent contractors. That leaves workers and companies open to audit by the Internal Revenue Service and additional taxes if the IRS determines that the contractor is actually a full employee.

``With today's skills shortage, it is more critical to remove Section 1706,'' said Paul Kostek, president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. ``It will clarify everyone's role, because currently it can be a pain for individuals and the companies to manage independent contractors because of all the restrictions.''

Industry groups have fought the provision since it was introduced in the 1986 tax legislation, said Max Steiner, spokesman for the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses, based in Greensboro, N.C.

If successful, the repeal would free up more consultants to work independently. It also might make businesses more interested in hiring consultants to alleviate their IT staffing shortages, Steiner added.