Delegates to this year’s Institute of IT Training (IITT) National Trainers’
Conference, in Coventry on 18th May, will receive – free - a management
summary of the ‘IT Training Professionals Climate Survey’. This
major survey of the IT training profession – only the second such survey
undertaken – was commissioned by the IITT and conducted by specialist
market research and training consultancy, Lorien Customer Focus (LCF).
LCF gathered the data from 758 IT training professionals. Of these, 60 per
cent were female; 90 per cent work in the industry full time; 50 per cent work
in London or the South East of England and 62 per cent describe themselves as
‘classroom trainers’.
Among the significant changes within the industry since the previous survey,
in 2001, is the rise in e-learning. While, in 2001, only five per cent of respondents
claimed to be working in any e-learning capacity, the figure in 2003 was 25
per cent.
LCF’s Lizzi Seear revealed: “The largest employer of IT trainers
in the UK is the health sector – which accounts for 25 per cent of the
total. The next largest employers are ‘government’ (14 per cent)
and ‘finance (11 per cent’).”
According to Colin Steed, the IITT’s chief executive: “The survey
covered not only salaries and additional benefits but also life/work balance
and career development. It showed that the average IT training professional
works some 40 hours a week – with only one per cent of Institute members
claiming to work 60 or more hours a week.
“There is a marked difference in working hours between those who are
self-employed and those who are employed,” Steed added. “This is
likely to be a deliberate lifestyle choice and indicates that greater employer
flexibility towards working hours may prove attractive when retaining IT training
professionals.
“In terms of career development, it is heartening to see that 93 per
cent of respondents undertake formal career development in order to gain knowledge
and skills,” he continued. “However, it is disappointing that only
55 per cent of respondents claimed to have access to all the training and skills
development opportunities that they need.
“We are grateful to LCF for providing this valuable insight into the
IT training industry and the professionals upon whom it depends,” said
Steed. He explained that the survey will become an annual event, enabling the
IITT to benchmark future years’ responses against the findings of this
survey.
About the survey
The survey, carried out online by Lorien Customer Focus in September 2003 on
behalf of the Institute of IT Training (IITT), encompassed over 3,000 IITT members.
In total, 758 people completed the survey. The key points from the survey are:
Salary & Benefits
The average full time salary for someone in the IT training industry is £29,130
pa.
The average full time salary ranges from e-learning managers (£33,460
pa) to open learning centre facilitators (£22,437 pa).
The average salary within the commercial training provider sector is £34,800.
Average salaries in this sector are highest in London (£40,250) and the
South East (£37,150) and lowest in the Midlands (£27,250).
Among those who are employed full time, some 67 per cent have a higher salary
now compared with their salary 12 months previously. Among part time staff,
this figure is 44 per cent. Only seven per cent of full time employees and 11
per cent of part time employees have a lower salary now than they did 12 months
previously.
Salary increases over the previous 12 months were greatest for those in technical
support (83 per cent have received pay rises in the previous year) and training
administration (78 per cent) and least for e-learning tutors (65 per cent).
Those most likely to have had a decrease in salary compared with 12 months previously
were open learning facilitators (11 per cent of these had experienced pay cuts).
Of the employed IT trainers who took a pay cut over the previous 12 months,
the average pay cut was 27 per cent.
Additional Benefits
The top three benefits - in addition to salary – for those in the IT
training industry are: pension (81 per cent); private health care (45 per cent)
and bonus pay (35 per cent).
Other benefits received are: life assurance (29 per cent); car allowance (22
per cent); company car (12 per cent), leaving 12 per cent for ‘other benefits’.
Self-employed
Some 16 per cent of the survey’s respondents are self-employed IT trainers.
When asked for their average daily rate, the answers ranged from ‘below
£100’ to ‘£800’.
The overall average fee charged by a self-employed IT trainer is £286
a day.
The highest fees are charged by those in the e-learning sector: the average
fee for a freelancer working in the e-learning field is £297, compared
with £248 for a classroom trainer.
Of those working full time, self-employed trainers work an average of 45 hours
per week (full time employed staff work, on average 41 hours a week). The average
weekly working hours for those working part time is 27 hours – for both
the employed and self-employed trainers.
Life/Work Balance
The average IT training professional works some 40 hours a week – although
some one per cent of respondents claimed to work over 60 hours a week.
Some 70 per cent of respondents said that the number of hours that they worked
were acceptable.
Career Development
IT trainers take career development seriously. When asked the main reason for
attending training programmes or achieving qualifications, 93 per cent said
that is was to ‘gain knowledge and skills’. The other reasons given
were: better employment opportunities (64 per cent); job promotion (30 per cent);
it is required by employers (29 per cent); in order to get a pay rise (27 per
cent); it is required by clients (25 per cent), and job security (21 per cent).
Only 55 per cent of respondents said that they have access to the training and
skills development that they need.
The Future
Nine out of ten respondents said that they find their job interesting and over
60 per cent predict that they have a long term future within the industry.
For further details of the survey, contact Colin Steed at the IITT on 0845 006
8858 or email csteed@iitt.org.uk or Lizzi Seear at Lorien Customer Focus on
01753 768477 or lizzi.seear@lorien.co.uk
About the Institute of IT Training
Formed in November 1995, the Institute of IT Training (IITT) provides a professional
membership structure for all individuals involved in IT Training. Other key
services include publishing standards that encompass all aspects of IT training,
development and delivery and a comprehensive accreditation programme for any
training service organisation.
Within the IT training industry, the IITT is driving standards through its
competency frameworks and by encouraging world-leading qualifications such as
TAP and CeLP. The Institute works with other organisations and professional
bodies - first, to ensure its standards are as widely accepted as possible,
and secondly to recognise other qualifications and experience and accept these
against defined competency frameworks as evidence towards its own professional
membership.
The IITT’s philosophy is that the qualifications for admission to individual
membership bands should realistically reflect job roles in the workplace. Therefore,
qualification is achieved by proving competence in clearly defined training
skills areas, along with technical expertise in the candidate's area of activity.
The Institute provides a comprehensive range of benefits and exclusive support
services for its membership. It also organises a range of awards – presented
annually in February – to encourage and celebrate excellence within the
IT training world.
Further information from:
Colin Steed, IITT, 0845 006 8858
Jayne Atkinson, Lorien Customer Focus, 01753 762736
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405
www.iitt.org.uk
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