Questions in relation to Information Services and Technology Department training and structure from 1 March 2011 to 28 February 2015

Subject/Request Details:   (1) Did the Bank purchase any IT technical training for the ICT/IT department from QA training covering IT technical courses such as Microsoft, VMware, Oracle, Citrix and Cisco in 2013 and 2014?  (2) When will the next skills licence be purchased by the ICT/IT department?  (3) How many people are there in the ICT department and provide an ICT department organisation chart.  (4)  Does the ICT / IT technical department purchase IT technical training for products such Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Oracle and Citrix in February and March to utilise remaining budget for the financial year if so how is the purchase justified?  (5) How much did the Bank spend on training for the financial years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 and who are the top three suppliers that the Bank uses for training?  (6) At what points during the year does the Bank make decisions to purchase training throughout the year? How much of the training budget remains for the financial year ending 31st March 2015?  (7) Who is responsible for purchasing the Bank’s training (i.e. which departments and who are the decision makers)?’

Date released:  23 March 2015

Disclosure:

Information Services and Technology Division (‘ISTD’) is the department responsible for IT within the Bank of England (the ‘Bank’).

The Bank did not purchase IT technical training from QA Training in 2013 and 2014. 

The Bank does not purchase ‘skills licences’.

As at the end of January 2015 there were 479 full time equivalent staff within ISTD, an organisation chart is provided below.

ISTD Organisation chart 

The Bank purchases training as and when required.

The table below provide details of the amount spent centrally on IT training in the financial years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14.  Some IT training is arranged by areas outside of ISTD, but details of such training is not recorded centrally.

*The Bank's financial year runs from March to February 

The top three suppliers used for IT training within ISTD by monetary value are WWP Training Limited, Hambrough Consulting and Knowledgepool.

Decisions regarding training requirements are identified throughout the year based on individuals’ objectives and development plans as well as the strategic aims of the area.  The Bank’s Human Resources Division (‘HR’) assists business areas with a dedicated Learning Adviser.  The Bank’s Procurement policy, along with guidance from HR, enables the Bank to make informed decisions which enables training to be delivered ensuring value for money.  The central IT training budget remaining for the year ended 28 February 2015 was £55,182.

Training is arranged both centrally and by local business areas, this applies to both IT training and other training requirements.  The HR Learning and Development team is responsible for purchasing centrally organised training.  Local technical training is purchased at the discretion of local management across all departments.