Training spend – how to cut it by 30%

Dealing with inefficiencies in how training is run can cut learning budgets by up to 30%.

That’s the claim of an learning and development outsourcing specialist which has detailed ways of cutting training spend in a ‘white paper’ published recently by Knowledgepool.

According to the document options include:

• Shaving 7% off training supplier costs through preferred supplier arrangements
• Saving about 30% of admin costs by automating bookings, evaluations and post course assessments
• Cutting 2.6% from the learning budget by improving occupancy rates for internal training events
• Slicing 9.5% by redesigning courses so that more are delivered away from the classroom
• Saving 9.5% of budget by longer-term planning and by restricting ad hoc training organised by managers

Kevin Lovell, learning strategy director at KnowledgePool and author of the report, said: “Creating a preferred supplier list minimises the number of supplier relationships you have to manage and maximises the potential for discounts. After negotiating the best deals it is important to ensure that everyone uses only those suppliers.

“The obvious place to look when making learning budget cuts is external supplier costs, but greater reductions are possible through ‘intelligent’ scheduling and course design. A 30% cut in learning costs may sound extreme, but it is achievable.”