What training are you provided?

Find out what training is provided.

Regarding the specialist and technical skills needed by staff at higher education institution, there is a distinct need for basic digital skills development.

The reported training currently provided in the survey includes virtual workshops, user guides, eLearning, and training videos. These are predominantly self-guided forms of learning, which suggests that many faculty are responsible for their own digital skills training. This was re-enforced by the focus groups’ discussions.

Responses were mixed in the survey, with many staff reporting no training at all. Most training that was mentioned was either self-guided or optional in-house training which means it is not applied consistently across faculty.

Almost half of the staff at higher education institutions (HEIs) who responded to the survey indicated that they support others in their institution with technical issues (Figure 22). This suggests that not only is training self-guided, but the responsibility to resolve technical issues falls onto staff, rather than dedicated support teams.

Most staff reported feeling confident that they could resolve day-to-day technical challenges (Figure 23). Despite limited training and self-guided learning, many staff seem to be confident in their abilities to manage digital technologies.

Many staff at HEIs also talked about information technology (IT) teams when asked about digitally based roles in their institution. They were also cited frequently when staff were asked how they were supporting in using digital technologies. However, support and training around new technologies comes from a range of groups, including internal IT teams, external companies, commissioned third parties and library staff.