Problem solved – company paying for training

How do I convince my boss to pay for an essential external training course?

SHOW AND TELL

It is not unusual to hesitate before asking your employer to provide external training. Careful planning before approaching your manager will allow you to demonstrate advantages that can be enjoyed by everyone, not just you.

Illustrate why the training is necessary – but from your employer’s perspective (your boss might not appreciate subsidising your new, improved CV). How will your department or organisation benefit from what you will learn? List specific aspects of your job where training will enhance performance. Volunteer post-training objectives that you will meet within an agreed timeframe. For example, propose that you will prepare and deliver an internal workshop, to ensure that the key skills or knowledge you have acquired will be shared with colleagues. You might even hint that a better trained finance team, one more able to add value to an organisation or strengthen its competitiveness, will enhance your boss’s own reputation with senior management.

Do thorough research, instead of simply submitting a vague request for ‘some training’ – this implies that your professional development is the responsibility of anyone but you. Seek out the most appropriate and best-value courses. Show that you will try to keep time spent away from the office to a minimum, perhaps by taking evening classes or online courses. Research takes time but helps you build a powerful case.

And explain the potential consequences of not maintaining and raising the finance team’s capability. Employers who don’t invest in training won’t attract the best accountants when looking to hire new staff, and, of course, no organisation wants to fall foul of financial regulatory requirements through in-house ignorance.

Be confident. Don’t apologise. Your employer may even conclude that they can’t afford not to pay your fees.

 

"Do thorough research, instead of simply submitting a vague request for ‘some training’ – this implies that your professional development is the responsibility of anyone but you"