Two managers talk about training their employees. The first asks, “What if we train them, and they leave?” The second responds, “What if we don’t train them, and they stay?”

This is true of every profession, but it cannot be more true for technology professionals. Technology changes so fast and we have an extra burden to stay on top of it. Yet somehow, every place I’ve worked, I’ve seen large groups of engineers that haven’t taken any training in years, or sometimes decades.

Mitigate the excuses

There are usually two initial excuses: (1) They cut the training budget. (2) I don’t have time. To eliminate the first excuse, I established a training budget for my department and I don’t cut it when things get tight. To eliminate the second excuse, I set a training goal for 40 hours/year per individual.

Even with those firmly established, the excuses keep coming. First, just because I have budget, doesn’t mean I can send every individual to a week-long course that requires travel. We need to consider all of the options and spread out the frequency of the most expensive options. Travel training can happen occasionally, but not every person every year.

Also, allocating time to the goal is no guarantee of success. We all tend to give our time to the urgent and neglect the important. Training often gets canceled to meet project deadlines. It takes discipline to manage time effectively to get non-urgent, yet important things done such as training.

The options

To really make the most of this, you need to explore all of the options for training. There are probably more that you think. Even if you don’t have a much time or budget, there are options here for you.

1. Traditional in-person instructor-led training: I personally love this type of training. I’ve spent countless hours learning in this way over my career. The downside is cost and inflexibility. As budgets have tightened and time has become more constrained, this has become a less-attractive option. That trend is probably what led one of my favorite training centers, Benchmark Learning, to go bankrupt a few years ago.
2. Virtual classroom instructor-led training: This is similar to the above, but eliminates the need to travel. It’s usually best to take this from a quiet place, such a home-office instead of your normal cubical where you’ll get interrupted.
3. Private training: Bring in a trainer to your location. This not only eliminates travel cost, but it also greatly reduces the per-student cost. If you have a group of people that need the same training, this is a great way to go.
4. Conferences: I love both local and national technology conferences. They are generally cheaper than classroom training, and provide a wider variety of material.
5. Corporate training: Most large corporations have a formal learning and development department. CHS has a great one. It’s cost-effective and pre-aligned to your company mission.
6. Employee-led lunch & learn: This is a great way for one employee (who perhaps took advantage of one of the above items) to share their learnings with the whole team. It’s also a great development opportunity for public speaking.
7. Vendor-sponsored events: These are free, and sometimes you get what you pay for. However, if you do your research ahead of time, you can get some great education in exchange for a little vendor marketing-time. These are also great networking opportunities.
8. User-groups and meet-ups: These are usually free, or have a nominal membership fee. This is like the employee-led lunch & learn, but with your entire community of practice, not just your team. Across IT at different companies, we are all trying to solve the same problems. Let’s learn from each other.
9. Webinars: These are either pre-scheduled or on-demand. They could also be vendor-sponsored or paid. Either way, they are inexpensive and very flexible.
10. Read a book: If you’re a technology geek, then you probably have a few books on your shelf with a two-inch thick binding and page numbers in the thousands. Nowadays, there are more ways to read than ever. Personally, I love to read audio books during my commute. This is inexpensive and efficient.
11. Go to college: This is a big commitment, but if you are going to invest in your development, why not get a degree out of it? I went to night school, while working full-time during the day, twice. Once for my bachelor’s degree and once for my master’s. You can read the full story here. It’s also worth noting that many companies offer tuition reimbursement. Why leave that on the table?
12. Read a blog: Hey, there is this cool blog on technology leadership development called Zach on Leadership. You should totally check it out!

I just gave you 12 ways to go get training. Among those 12, you can certainly find something that fits your budget, time constraints, and flexibility needs. If you are a technologist, you may be primarily thinking about technology training, but don’t forget the soft skills. You need to work on your soft skills. Trust me. You really do. Really.

In conclusion, if you are a level 12 paladin at home, but only a level 2 engineer at work, get busy. You need some XP.