I'm not sure!

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by trislloyd, Jan 9, 2006.

  1. trislloyd

    trislloyd Nibble Poster

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    My company has just told me they are going to pay for all my exams, which is good right? Well, I'm not so sure! What i'm concerned about is - would they have any authority to make me keep my certificates at work and could they stop me from transferring Microsoft qualifications to another company should i choose to leave? I don't really like the idea of me 'oweing' them anything! The way i see it is that if i pay for them then i'm not tied to my company in any way as i think they are expecting me to forge my career with them as they are gonna start investing in me. I would appreciate a bit of input off you guys before i decide whether to decline the offer or not, it's quite a tough one for me as money is tight at the mo (just moved house) and it would be a great help for them to pay!
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+, Comptia Network+, MCP
    WIP: MCSE, specializing in Cisco
  2. _omni_

    _omni_ Megabyte Poster

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    without me knowing much about it, the certificates are yours, not the company's, regardless of who sponsors them. so they couldn't keep them against your will.
     
    Certifications: MCSE 2003, MCSA:M
  3. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    The certs are under your name so they can't say they are theirs. The only thing they can do which a lot of companies do is to ask you to pay back a % of the exam costs if you leave after such a time so you will need to check your contract or ask (This is usually wiped off after 2-3 years but the longer you stay the less you owe them). Personally I get screwed for repayments so I choose to pay for my exams myself that way I know I owe them nothing when I leave.

    If they insist that you keep your exams at work (Which I doubt they would do) you could always get replacements send out at a small cost.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  4. trislloyd

    trislloyd Nibble Poster

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    You know what! - you guys never let me down. Thanks guys. I guess i kinda knew this anyway but it's nice to have it confirmed.
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+, Comptia Network+, MCP
    WIP: MCSE, specializing in Cisco
  5. simongrahamuk
    Honorary Member

    simongrahamuk Hmmmmmmm?

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    What Slypie said! :thumbleft

    Your certs are yours, If your company has funded them then they may ask you to repay your costs if you leave, however for this to be enforceable then it needs to be included in your contract of employment before they begin to fund them.
     
  6. trislloyd

    trislloyd Nibble Poster

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    No, it's not in my contract so i'm guessing i'd be stupid not to let them pay. Besides, they are also gonna pay for citrix and Crystal reports training so i'm starting to get extremely pumped up for the rest of the year, can't wait!
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+, Comptia Network+, MCP
    WIP: MCSE, specializing in Cisco
  7. simongrahamuk
    Honorary Member

    simongrahamuk Hmmmmmmm?

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    Just to make sure though, check company policy on this. Usually it is in the individuals contract, however your company may also have an employee handbook or something where it is included.

    8)
     
  8. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Agreed, basically there aint many employers that won't ask you to pay them a % back as it's a failsafe for them if you do the training then bugger off into a higher paid job. If they don't ask for some money back then your a lucky git...:biggrin
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  9. Modey

    Modey Terabyte Poster

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    It's not uncommon for this 'pay back if you leave' kind of thing to be done in addition to your contract as a seperate thing. That's been the case for some training at my company. I signed a letter to that effect for some training I did a couple of years back, with the stipulation being that if I left within 12months the whole amount would be paid back.

    I am in fact leaving my current company in the next two weeks and fortunately I haven't signed anything for my A+ & N+ exams which they paid for me to take. I paid for the MCP myself and also supplied my own training material.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCP, MCDST, MCSA 2K3, MCTS, MOS, MTA, MCT, MCITP:EDST7, MCSA W7, Citrix CCA, ITIL Foundation
    WIP: Nada
  10. trislloyd

    trislloyd Nibble Poster

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    I think i'm a lucky git anyway but thanks slypie! lol

    To be fair i'm expecting a pay rise the end of Jan so if they sort that out i probably wouldn't leave anyway but i was born to worry so i tend to try and cover everything just in case.
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+, Comptia Network+, MCP
    WIP: MCSE, specializing in Cisco
  11. MarkN

    MarkN Nibble Poster

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    As everyone says it is pretty standard for a company to build in a clause that says if you leave within a certain period you pay a percentage or all of the training costs - "golden handcuffs" we used to call it, I one had to pay several hundred pounds when leaving a company, of course you could just walk and hope they don't take it out of your final months salary. Your certifications will always stay with you - its one way of making yourself attractive to Microsoft partners - dependant on the partner status and competenciest they require x number of points to qualify and these can be satisfied by any number of MCSE's that work for the company. Same goes for Citrix, I worked for a large Citrix partner in the UK and they needed, amongst other things, x numbers of CCEA's working there
     
    Certifications: MCSE NT4\W2K,CNE,CCEA,ASE
    WIP: CCNA

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