ICT Management > Training

How to develop an IT training policy

By Lasa Information Systems Team

An IT training policy can help your organisation to be clear about what IT is needed for the agency to work efficiently and the skills needed to use it effectively. Here is a checklist to help you to develop a policy. Answering the questions below will help you to identify what you need to do next.

An IT training policy can help your organisation to be clear about what IT is needed for the agency to work efficiently and the skills needed to use it effectively. Here is a checklist to help you to develop a policy. Answering the questions below will help you to identify what you need to do next.

Checklist

• Do you have an IT Training Policy committing to staff development?
• Is this policy reviewed regularly in line with the development of the agency?
• Does your organisation have an IT Training Needs Analysis? See the knowledgebase articles How to select the most appropriate training and Training needs analysis
• Do you review IT training needs annually to monitor staff development?
• Do you have a procedure to identify IT skills gaps in your organisation?
• How are workers' new skills captured for the whole agency? Have a look at the factsheet - worker IT skills can be agency IT skills
• Is time given to staff after training to consolidate what they have learnt and to cascade the new skills to other staff by, for example, a presentation, sharing of course material, or one to one mentoring?
• Are training costs considered when purchasing new equipment or software? Have a look at the factsheet - allocating funds for IT training
• How do you replace the skills lost when a valuable staff member leaves?
• Do you have an IT induction for new staff?
• Do staff, old and new, know who to ask if they have an IT question or if they need new equipment?

Action points

• Develop a training policy committed to on-going learning.
• Develop a Training Needs Analysis for your organisation - each worker should complete an analysis each year
• Plan for financial investment in staff IT development - have a budget heading for this in your accounts
• Make sure that staff skills become organisational skills by allowing staff to practice new skills after attending a course and share their new skills with other workers - include this in the IT training policy
• Develop an IT induction - make sure everyone in the organisation knows who to go to with IT problems
• Include IT training in the budget when purchasing new equipment.