Training: What to Do when Your Company Doesn't Foot the Bill

What do you do if your benefit package doesn't include training expenses or you are an independent contractor? Learn about some training or education options that are inexpensive, free, or that can shorten your time in the classroom.

By Annabelle Reitman, Career Management Consultant

"Regardless of what the future holds, pursuing continuous learning is not optional, it is mandatory."

Harry Chambers
Author, Getting Promoted: Real Strategies for Advancing Your Career

Learning is a Privilege

Legally your employer is not obligated to pay for your work-related training or education expenses.

Companies who believe in continual or lifelong learning for the purposes of emphasizing productive employee performance and helping them gain skills to grow with the organization, will usually offer as a benefit, some provision for payment or reimbursement of educational training or seminars/workshops costs. But what happens when your employer does not offer such benefits or is too small in size to afford to do so? Or what do you do if you are an independent contractor and not eligible for employee educational benefits? Do you engage in any professional development activities?

As anyone knows, in this day of rapid change and technology expansion, knowledge and skills can be outdated before the ink is dry on a diploma. Information vital today can be obsolete tomorrow. Harry Chambers in Getting Promoted: Real Strategies for Advancing Your Career states, "Regardless of what the future holds, pursuing continuous learning is not optional, it is mandatory." In today's competitive job market, corporate downsizing, and the growing number of self-employed, you can't rest on your laurels, even if you have to pay the bill yourself to keep abreast professionally.

You don't have to Pay the Piper

However, there are options that are inexpensive, free, or that can shorten your time in the classroom:

• In-house training - Does your employer offer training courses on-site that are related to your job or would help you move ahead in the organization? Make suggestions regarding new training topics.
• On-the-job training - Do you have opportunities to develop through job rotation, special projects, cross-departmental/functional work teams, or lateral transfers?
• College credit alternatives - Earn college credit by examination, for courses given by other organizations or your employer, by correspondence or for your work experience.
• Self-directed learning - For example, audio tapes, videos
• Local adult education centers - Offers general technology/computer, communication, business, and self-management courses
• Print information - Professional & business magazines, books, newspaper articles
• On-line information - Professional association web sites, business publications

Remember: You are an Investment

In the end, the initiative and responsibility for keeping your skill sets updated and in demand lie with you, not anyone else. If you are employed, before making plans for additional training or education, look at your performance reviews and ask your boss for input about recommendations for improvement and further development for promotion opportunities. If you are an independent contractor, remember professional development costs are a business expense and tax-deductible. Workshops and conferences have the additional benefit of being great places to network.

Your investment level in training activities or lifelong learning is somewhat dependent on how you plan to use the acquired new information, your future career plans, and/or its value to your employer or clients.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Getting Promoted: Real Strategies for Advancing your Career
  What do I need to do to move up the corporate ladder? In today's extra lean, downsized, and cut-throat working environment, many people believe that the only way to climb the corporate ladder is to move from one employer to the next. But there are other, more effective ways to work your way up.

• E-learning
  The economic landscape is littered with the remains of ill conceived "dot com" companies that were long on flash and hype but short on utility and profit. However, you'll find one Internet sector not only surviving the online bubble burst, but actually thriving online distance learning providers - elearning.

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