IT Training & IT Cuts

In these days of government and corporate cost-cutting, with IT seen as good for cutting, where does IT Training stand?

And a key question:
How much money and thought is put into (a) good quality IT training & education, compared with (b) the general level of success & satisfaction with IT?

Is there a correlation?

One thing is sure. According to surveys of senior management about IT success, and of users about IT satisfaction, it's evident that IT as a whole isn't working (which makes it easier to justify the cost cuts).

Assuming for the moment that there is a correlation - that if IT Training were bigger and better then so would IT success & satisfaction as a whole be bigger & better -

- let's look at some reasons why IT Training might not be working -

• IT Training needs to become more education oriented, in giving The Why.
  

The difference between training and education:
- Training gives you the what and the how.
- Education gives you the what and the why.

So when point & click skills are taught, are they taught within the context of the tasks, internal customers, the business processess, the organisation's context and needs, and the external customer's expectations?

But in any case, point & click skills are not where it's at:

• IT Training needs to be less hands-on point & click skills, and more about being IT Savvy;
  how to make it work
  - for people, the organisation, and customers.
  

A further issue is that most IT training tends to be of the sheep-dip type (as does most training in organisations), with little or no follow-through. And yet:

• IT training would be more effective if it were staged over weeks, rather than a day or two, with the longer calendar time giving superior loop learning
  
  
• IT Training would also be more effective with follow-up mentoring, for example by lead-users.

Lastly, IT training tends to be treated like an orphan; considered last and grudgingly. In fact the effective use of technology is only as good as the training and education in using the technology. Therefore:

• IT Training & Education needs to be a priority rather than an afterthought.
  

After all, if good quality education is a key factor in lifting up the prosperity of a nation, then surely it must be for organisations, in the success & satisfaction achieved with IT.