Negotiating training contract with employer

Negotiating training contract with employer

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Hello,

After recently graduating from university with an accountancy degree. I'm fortunate enough to have secured a position as an assistant management accountant for a firm with pre-tax profits of around £4m per annum. I accepted the position on condition that study support for CIMA would be provided, however (naively) I never formally sought confirmation of the level of study support offered.

I've been with the company for just over 3 months and believe now is a good time to initiate discussions about forming my training contract. The company has previously funded bookkeepers' AAT evening courses at the local college however I'll be the first person to be supported with CIMA (or any other accountancy body for that matter), so I'm unsure what would be a reasonable request, given that this will be considerably more expensive.

I know I can only get a true answer by asking my employer, but it would be nice to enter the discussion already knowing an industry standard. Can anybody advise what they might expect a firm of this size would be willing to spend?

FYI. The contract will be a clawback style rather than salary sacrifice.

Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

Replies (7)

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By johngroganjga
26th Sep 2016 08:05

I would just work out a costed training plan looking at what the main training providers offer - perhaps plans A, B and C in descending order of cost.

Then seek your employer's agreement to plan A, and take it from there.

Thanks (1)
Worm
By TheLambtonWorm
26th Sep 2016 09:29

Also just try to anticipate their questions so you have an answer straight away. That will let them know you are taking it seriously.

Eg;

1) How much time from work you will miss (if any)
2) How long it will take
3) How many exams there are
4) What benefits it will bring to the business

Thanks (1)
By Moonbeam
26th Sep 2016 10:03

Hundreds of years ago, when I worked for ICI, admittedly a monolith compared to your employer, we were only reimbursed the cost of correspondence courses/evening classes/exam fees once we had passed the exams.
We were also given paid time off just for the exams.
As John says, you will need to give your employer details of the costs involved. They may well get a shock so you should be prepared to compromise.

Thanks (1)
By dialm4accounts
26th Sep 2016 12:13

I started out training with a blue-chip doing CIMA, more years ago than I care to remember :)
For Stage 1, as it was then, I opted for home study, and they paid for my study books, told me I should attend a revision course and paid for that, and gave me study and exam leave, as well as paying the exam fees.
For Stage 2, I went for classroom tuition and again the courses, leave and exam fees were all paid for.
At that point I moved into practice and switched to ACA, working for a small accounting firm, who again paid for my courses, leave and exam fees (though I failed a couple of exams en route and for the retakes I had to pay for the course and exam fees and take holidays to study - and my employer refunded the fees to me when I passed).
The blue-chip had a clawback clause but the practice didn't - "I don't want to make you stay if you don't want to" was the eminently practical comment from the partner.
Their generosity resulted in me staying with them for four years after I qualified.
Your employer may well be willing to invest more than you think in your tuition and exams, because if they do right by you then you're more likely to do right by them, plus it's good for them to have staff who are keen to learn - and as one of my senior colleagues would say, if you don't ask, you don't get!
Put a proposal together and ask politely - they can only say no!

Thanks (1)
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By Comptable
26th Sep 2016 20:28

Gather you facts about costs and time off etc.
Think hard about what your employer might want out of it.
Decide on you bottom line (ie if you don't get that you quit).
Decide on an opening position.
Sleep on it for at least 3 days.
Talk to your employer about the whole subject. If you are any good (I don't know) they will want to keep you.
If you are rubbish........
If they are good employers they will be sensible and reasonable (and if you are a good employee so will you)
If they are not good employers.............

Good luck

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By edwardsw
26th Sep 2016 23:20

That’s brilliant. Thank you. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to reply to my question. I feel it’s important to be fully prepared for the meeting so I value your suggestions on how to put together my proposal.

Zarar – the words “…salary plus study support” were included in my job offer. However there were no formal confirmations on the level of study support. Hence I’m very much aware I need to present my case well.

I'll adopt John's A B C suggestion, detailing the costs, the facts, benefits and drawbacks of each. Particularly ensuring I anticipate any questions they might have.

I’m naturally expecting to compromise so between us, I’ll make my desired option, option B (A will still be serious but I’ll consider it a bonus)

Comptable – I’ve survived my 3 month probation, and I have prior experience in accountancy, so I’m confident they don’t think I’m entirely rubbish ;)

I’m going to formally prepare my proposal tomorrow evening, then will sleep on it, as you suggest, before presenting it towards the end of the week.

Thanks again for all your help. Whilst I’ve lurked in the shadows of accountingweb for many years, this is my first post, and I’m very impressed with the warm welcome you’ve all given me.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

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