Corporate budgets for Professional Learning & Development are always tight. This is often due to a disconnect between the “business“ and “IT“. Typically, the former discounts the impact that a trained and skilled IT organization can have on the bottom line. Meanwhile, the latter sees training as essential to ensuring that modern IT infrastructure can be optimized to deliver the services that meet business requirements.
In essence, the business side views training as an “expense“while IT views it as an “investment“. The mantra from the IT perspective is, “If you think training is expensive, try going without it“.
The good news is that there are various ways to purchase training to ensure that you get the most out of your available budget. Purchase options are typically aligned with how many people require training, whether you or your teams are preparing for certification, or whether your entire team requires the same class.
Training purchase options from EMC Education Services include:
- paying direct (using a credit card)
- pre-purchasing Training Currency (e.g. EMC Training Units)
- packaged training offering (e.g. ValuePak’s)
- Onsite Training Delivery (for those having a large number of people that need the same training, a dedicated class can be purchased that is conducted at your office premises)
Now, there is an additional option that many people don’t have on their radar: the Learning Subscription.
A Learning Subscription provides access to learning content at a set fee for a pre-defined period of time. For example, EMC offers customer subscriptions that remain valid for either one or two years. The subscription holder receives 24/7 access to an ever-growing library of both digital training content as well as virtual and traditional open-enrollment classroom training for the duration of the subscription chosen.
Learn at anytime and from anywhere
By providing access to the latest content, a Learning Subscription stimulates continuous learning. Residual benefits of IT practitoners who engage in continuous learning include:
- increased productivity
- fewer support calls
- reduced risk for the employer (due to just-in-time training that can take place before implementing something new)
Want to learn more about Learning Subscriptions?
Have you ever used a Learning Subscription service? What was your experience with it?
