- Email: [email protected]
Training funds to boost your budget
Training funds to boost your budget Financial aid is available from a variety of sources to fund programmer training. Are you getting your share? raining is unproductive and is therefore unprofitable. It follows that training should be discontinued so long as there is a recession . . . . Clinging to this short-sighted view of personnel planning, yet another company fends itself on a dangerous course from which no amount of economic revival could help it recover. Peering through the fog in the economists' crystal ball, we have the first signs that the worst is now over. UK industry can look forward to a brighter year ahead- provided it has the trained manpower resources to cope with the revival. Steering a business successfully through the uncharted waters of recession has required skill and judgment, but a controlled programme of expansion will call for a measure of experience that cannot be acquired overnight. Nowhere will the pressure on experienced staff be more acute than in the computing sector; an activity which is emerging relatively unscathed from the recession. Unemployment reached unprecedented levels during 1981, but data processing departments were still critically undermanned. Estimates of the shortfall in trained computer staff during that period ranged from a conservative figure of 10 per cent to 25 per cent in areas attempting rapid expan-
T
sion.
Budgetary restrictions on recruitment have certainly contributed to the prob-
lems faced by the computing sector, but David Casey is a technical journalist. 8
the major factor has been the lack of personnel with the right kind of experience and training. Without a positive commitment of resources in this direction, however, dp departments will be unable to provide the support required by manufacturing and service industries during the revival. Making financial resources available for companies to train their computer staff is certainly one way to alleviate the problem. Recognising that the future of many key areas of the UK economy lies in the application of computer techniques, the Manpower Services Commission has established an array of schemes for funding training. A proportion of the finance is available directly through MSC projects such as the Youth Opportunities Schemes, and TOPS courses. More specialised funding is being channelled through the industry training b o a r d s - a pattern which will continue in a modified form despite the closure of 16 of the Boards. To a dp manager budgeting training resources, the source of the support is immaterial; it is rather more important that he is aware of the schemes and their associated benefits. Since 1979, the Manpower Services Commission has offered grants to employers prepared to provide training in computer programming and systems analysis. By restricting the scope of the funding to specified courses, a close check can be maintained over the course contents and standards. Grants to cover trainees involved in these schemes are available through the statutorily based training boards, voluntary training bodies, and the MSC's Computer Grant Administration Unit. In the first instance, a company proposing to take advantage of government
by DAVID CASEY funding would contact the ITB to which it contributes training levy. Apart from courses organised by an ITB specifically for firms within its scope, the grants provided are identical for the same course irrespective of sector. A dp department in the textile industry would therefore be entitled to the same measure of financial support as a similar unit in catering. For the computer services industry which falls outside the remit of any established I T B - the Computing Services I n d u s t r y Training Council (COSIT) has been founded as a voluntary training organisation with similar objectives. Organisations in banking, finance and insurance have no coordinating body for this purpose, and would therefore approach the MSC direct. In the current phase of fmancial support for computer education, MSC policy has been to allocate the majority of the grants for trainees attending a short initial programming course. Within this broad strategy, preference is given to firms prepared to train staff in excess of the training quota established by each company during the past two or three years. In either case, the basic course follows the syllabus of the Joint NCC/ City and Guilds 746 Course. In Scotland, employers have the further option of a programme developed by the Scottish Business and Technical Education Councils (SCOTBECand SCOTEC). Both forms of initial course qualify for a grant of £75 per week for up to 20 weeks of training in college. The obligation on the employer is to provide planned in-company training and practical experience which will meet the standards of the BEC/TECCertificate. Under an alternative approach to DATA PROCESSING
PROGRAMMER TRAINING funding these first line courses, a grant of £60 per week can be claimed where a trainee cannot receive the in-company experience necessary to qualify for the Certificate, and returns to college for a further 20 weeks of training. The grant is available, however, only to members of staff being trained in addition to their employer's normal throughput of programmers. A 42 week programmer course is aimed at young employees, and follows a pattern which a company would be unlikely to adopt for its internal training strategy. Since all the staff participating in such a scheme would be additional to a company's normal training quota, every student would qualify for the block grant of £1,500. Designed as a 'thin sandwich', the course is based on nine weeks in college and eight weeks planned practical work with the employer. A further nine weeks back at college leads into 16 weeks of industrial placement with the sponsor. Students who complete the course satisfactorily are awarded the BEC/TECNational Certificate (SCOTBEC/SCOTECin Scotland). An identical programme is followed by young unemployed trainees sponsored by the MSC on the National Computing Centre's Threshold Scheme. The practical difference is that companies offering students places for the industrial experience stages of the course are not employing the trainees assigned to them. The MSC's aim is that vacancies will occur within these organisations to absorb the students when their course is complete. MSC offer a third initial programmer course which runs for a total 18 weeks, and is the college component of the 42 week scheme. For this restricted training programme the grant for each student is £60 per week. Company training managers view college based courses with a degree of scepticism: the academic content covered in such a programme may be relevant only in part to the needs of the data processing department. When the object is to provide real-time programmer training for a company's graduate intake, the £mancial incentives would be a secondary consideration. A second scheme operated by the MSC helps overcome this inherent objection. Within the framework of an outline syllabus, courses may be developed to meet the requirements of individual companies. Depending on the facilities available and the number of trainees involved, the course may be organised in the company's training DECEMBER 1981/JANUARY 1982
centre, at an educational establishment, or through a combination of the two. Subjects would have to be treated at an advanced level for the benefit of science or technology graduates, many of whom will already have industrial experience. For the 24 weeks required to complete a real-time course, the MSC will pay a grant of £70 per week. 'Conversion' courses for existing staff with a commercial or industrial background could help tap the wealth of experience accumulated within a company. Designed for employees who have no previous knowledge of computing, the systems analysis course funded by the MSC is aimed at staff prepared to move into this expanding field. Four weeks of basic computer training are followed by six weeks on the NCC systems analysis course working to the syllabus of the BCS Systems Analysis Examinations Board. The course is made more relevant through a four week supervised in-company project. An £80 per week grant applies to the 10 weeks of the college course. For staff being trained over and above a company's normal throughput of systems analysts, the same grant is available for employees attending just the six weeks NCC programme. The 'Training Opportunities Scheme' operated by the MSC is perhaps a misnomer. To qualify for a place on a course under the TOPS scheme, students must have left their previous employment or be out of work. The 'opportunity' is therefore more of a direct incentive for the trainees to return to full employment with a solid base in a new subject. As a source of trained s t a f f - many of whom have had relevant industrial experience prior to joining the s c h e m e - TOPS could go some way towards meeting the severe shortage of high-quality programming staff. TOPS courses are available through 'approved suppliers' throughout the UK: a list of these organisations is maintained by the NCC Clearing House Unit. Companies proposing to set up their own TOPS scheme - in real-time programming, for example- can apply to COSIT for approval. For its own part, the Engineering Industry Training Board is funding projects which would not normally attract MSC £mance. As part of its campaign directed at the training problems arising from developments in computing and other applications of microelectronics, the Board is now able to offer grants to encourage engineering employers to make use of Open University material.
Two self-study packages provided by the OU attract block grants for companies when 10 of their staff have completed a course. 'Microprocessors and Product development: a Course for Industry' is priced at £150 per set, and would qualify for grant aid of £600; a subsidy of £60 per student. The second package, 'Microprocessors and Product Design; a Course for Engineers' costs £395 for each set, but attracts a grant of £1,200 on similar terms. As a source of many trainee staff, the Schools Careers Service comes in for much unjustified criticism from employers who feel that careers officers are not directing the most able pupils towards computers and computing applications. Isolated in their academic environment, the careers teachers must accept the real responsibility; however their view of high technology is often based on outmoded notions of life in industry. Any scheme to bring school leavers into contact with computers through work experience is therefore to be welcomed. In a pilot project launched in October 1981, the MSC is working with Datasolve Education (a subsidiary of the BOC Group) to provide places for between 50 and 60 unemployed young people over the full year. The scheme offers a 12-week education programme combined with a further six to 12 weeks in practical work experience. The aim of this 'Computers and Office Work' scheme is that the students should be competent to start work in a computing or computer-related organisation. The organisers of the pilot scheme at Datasolve are currently looking for employers who can offer work experience in the London area, and have the time to guide the young people through the training period. With funding now available at every level from the most basic programming course to Open University study modules, dp departments across the spectrum of industry should be in a position to attract both the quantity and the quality of staff they require. For further information circle the following numbers on the enquiry card: Local Government Training Board 103 British Gas Corporation 104 National Water Council 105 Computing Services Industry Training Council 106 National Computing Centre 107 Datasolve Education 108 Engineering Industry Training Board 109
9
T
sion.
Budgetary restrictions on recruitment have certainly contributed to the prob-
lems faced by the computing sector, but David Casey is a technical journalist. 8
the major factor has been the lack of personnel with the right kind of experience and training. Without a positive commitment of resources in this direction, however, dp departments will be unable to provide the support required by manufacturing and service industries during the revival. Making financial resources available for companies to train their computer staff is certainly one way to alleviate the problem. Recognising that the future of many key areas of the UK economy lies in the application of computer techniques, the Manpower Services Commission has established an array of schemes for funding training. A proportion of the finance is available directly through MSC projects such as the Youth Opportunities Schemes, and TOPS courses. More specialised funding is being channelled through the industry training b o a r d s - a pattern which will continue in a modified form despite the closure of 16 of the Boards. To a dp manager budgeting training resources, the source of the support is immaterial; it is rather more important that he is aware of the schemes and their associated benefits. Since 1979, the Manpower Services Commission has offered grants to employers prepared to provide training in computer programming and systems analysis. By restricting the scope of the funding to specified courses, a close check can be maintained over the course contents and standards. Grants to cover trainees involved in these schemes are available through the statutorily based training boards, voluntary training bodies, and the MSC's Computer Grant Administration Unit. In the first instance, a company proposing to take advantage of government
by DAVID CASEY funding would contact the ITB to which it contributes training levy. Apart from courses organised by an ITB specifically for firms within its scope, the grants provided are identical for the same course irrespective of sector. A dp department in the textile industry would therefore be entitled to the same measure of financial support as a similar unit in catering. For the computer services industry which falls outside the remit of any established I T B - the Computing Services I n d u s t r y Training Council (COSIT) has been founded as a voluntary training organisation with similar objectives. Organisations in banking, finance and insurance have no coordinating body for this purpose, and would therefore approach the MSC direct. In the current phase of fmancial support for computer education, MSC policy has been to allocate the majority of the grants for trainees attending a short initial programming course. Within this broad strategy, preference is given to firms prepared to train staff in excess of the training quota established by each company during the past two or three years. In either case, the basic course follows the syllabus of the Joint NCC/ City and Guilds 746 Course. In Scotland, employers have the further option of a programme developed by the Scottish Business and Technical Education Councils (SCOTBECand SCOTEC). Both forms of initial course qualify for a grant of £75 per week for up to 20 weeks of training in college. The obligation on the employer is to provide planned in-company training and practical experience which will meet the standards of the BEC/TECCertificate. Under an alternative approach to DATA PROCESSING
PROGRAMMER TRAINING funding these first line courses, a grant of £60 per week can be claimed where a trainee cannot receive the in-company experience necessary to qualify for the Certificate, and returns to college for a further 20 weeks of training. The grant is available, however, only to members of staff being trained in addition to their employer's normal throughput of programmers. A 42 week programmer course is aimed at young employees, and follows a pattern which a company would be unlikely to adopt for its internal training strategy. Since all the staff participating in such a scheme would be additional to a company's normal training quota, every student would qualify for the block grant of £1,500. Designed as a 'thin sandwich', the course is based on nine weeks in college and eight weeks planned practical work with the employer. A further nine weeks back at college leads into 16 weeks of industrial placement with the sponsor. Students who complete the course satisfactorily are awarded the BEC/TECNational Certificate (SCOTBEC/SCOTECin Scotland). An identical programme is followed by young unemployed trainees sponsored by the MSC on the National Computing Centre's Threshold Scheme. The practical difference is that companies offering students places for the industrial experience stages of the course are not employing the trainees assigned to them. The MSC's aim is that vacancies will occur within these organisations to absorb the students when their course is complete. MSC offer a third initial programmer course which runs for a total 18 weeks, and is the college component of the 42 week scheme. For this restricted training programme the grant for each student is £60 per week. Company training managers view college based courses with a degree of scepticism: the academic content covered in such a programme may be relevant only in part to the needs of the data processing department. When the object is to provide real-time programmer training for a company's graduate intake, the £mancial incentives would be a secondary consideration. A second scheme operated by the MSC helps overcome this inherent objection. Within the framework of an outline syllabus, courses may be developed to meet the requirements of individual companies. Depending on the facilities available and the number of trainees involved, the course may be organised in the company's training DECEMBER 1981/JANUARY 1982
centre, at an educational establishment, or through a combination of the two. Subjects would have to be treated at an advanced level for the benefit of science or technology graduates, many of whom will already have industrial experience. For the 24 weeks required to complete a real-time course, the MSC will pay a grant of £70 per week. 'Conversion' courses for existing staff with a commercial or industrial background could help tap the wealth of experience accumulated within a company. Designed for employees who have no previous knowledge of computing, the systems analysis course funded by the MSC is aimed at staff prepared to move into this expanding field. Four weeks of basic computer training are followed by six weeks on the NCC systems analysis course working to the syllabus of the BCS Systems Analysis Examinations Board. The course is made more relevant through a four week supervised in-company project. An £80 per week grant applies to the 10 weeks of the college course. For staff being trained over and above a company's normal throughput of systems analysts, the same grant is available for employees attending just the six weeks NCC programme. The 'Training Opportunities Scheme' operated by the MSC is perhaps a misnomer. To qualify for a place on a course under the TOPS scheme, students must have left their previous employment or be out of work. The 'opportunity' is therefore more of a direct incentive for the trainees to return to full employment with a solid base in a new subject. As a source of trained s t a f f - many of whom have had relevant industrial experience prior to joining the s c h e m e - TOPS could go some way towards meeting the severe shortage of high-quality programming staff. TOPS courses are available through 'approved suppliers' throughout the UK: a list of these organisations is maintained by the NCC Clearing House Unit. Companies proposing to set up their own TOPS scheme - in real-time programming, for example- can apply to COSIT for approval. For its own part, the Engineering Industry Training Board is funding projects which would not normally attract MSC £mance. As part of its campaign directed at the training problems arising from developments in computing and other applications of microelectronics, the Board is now able to offer grants to encourage engineering employers to make use of Open University material.
Two self-study packages provided by the OU attract block grants for companies when 10 of their staff have completed a course. 'Microprocessors and Product development: a Course for Industry' is priced at £150 per set, and would qualify for grant aid of £600; a subsidy of £60 per student. The second package, 'Microprocessors and Product Design; a Course for Engineers' costs £395 for each set, but attracts a grant of £1,200 on similar terms. As a source of many trainee staff, the Schools Careers Service comes in for much unjustified criticism from employers who feel that careers officers are not directing the most able pupils towards computers and computing applications. Isolated in their academic environment, the careers teachers must accept the real responsibility; however their view of high technology is often based on outmoded notions of life in industry. Any scheme to bring school leavers into contact with computers through work experience is therefore to be welcomed. In a pilot project launched in October 1981, the MSC is working with Datasolve Education (a subsidiary of the BOC Group) to provide places for between 50 and 60 unemployed young people over the full year. The scheme offers a 12-week education programme combined with a further six to 12 weeks in practical work experience. The aim of this 'Computers and Office Work' scheme is that the students should be competent to start work in a computing or computer-related organisation. The organisers of the pilot scheme at Datasolve are currently looking for employers who can offer work experience in the London area, and have the time to guide the young people through the training period. With funding now available at every level from the most basic programming course to Open University study modules, dp departments across the spectrum of industry should be in a position to attract both the quantity and the quality of staff they require. For further information circle the following numbers on the enquiry card: Local Government Training Board 103 British Gas Corporation 104 National Water Council 105 Computing Services Industry Training Council 106 National Computing Centre 107 Datasolve Education 108 Engineering Industry Training Board 109
9