Some thoughts and opinions….

Company policies (e.g. funded or sponsored training)

Not all companies have them (e.g. can depend on learning culture and HR infrastructure). Companies may decide how much of a training cost (full/partial) subject to the reason. Reasons permitted will vary, from role requirement e.g. critical new legislation comes in and employee needs to be versed and certified to sign off documentation –> finance grads on accounting courses –> employee desire for self improvement e.g. course in grooming hamsters.

What are the expectations between both parties and will they be documented and stored in a central location?

• Is there a policy?
• Is this adhered to?

Other factors….

• Amount that needs to be paid back (sometimes dependent on reason for training, some companies provide employees with an annual learning/development budget e.g. part of a personal development/ health and wellbeing ) 
• Duration for employee to be retained after start of training contract/ completion
• Payment plan (amount that has to be paid back and when e.g. pro rated decreases over time e.g  a 1 year contract, decrease by 1/12th per month).

Employee perspective include:

How will this help me?

• Improve skillset/knowledge/qualifications
• Perform better at my current job/role?

• Develop/process internally or get increase remuneration?
• Make me more employable in the market/ to other companies?
• Improve my network? (internal/external)
• Will this qualification still be valued in a few years time?

Does getting the company to pay costs for me make sense?

• Can I afford to pay for it myself so I’m not tied into the company?
• Do the company get a discount? E.g. if there are a group of people?
• Am i eligible for any kind of discounts (you could get student membership from some training things, but if you’re currently qualified or a member of a body or forum you might have access to other discounts for training itself).

What happens if I don’t do the training?

• Will this limit career progression/development (short term/long term)?

Does getting the company to pay costs for me make sense?

• Can I afford to pay for it myself so I’m not tied into the company?
• Do the company get a discount? E.g. if there are a group of people?
• Am I eligible for any kind of discounts (you could get student membership from some training things, but if you’re currently qualified or a member of a body or forum you might have access to other discounts for training itself).

How will I complete it?

• How will I maintain work/life balance?
• Are there any other costs to consider (e.g. extra holiday/leave for studying, travel costs, resources (books etc.)
• Is there a learning culture that means that the company is supportive as a whole
• How will I be supported? Is my manager/team supportive or training? Family/friends? Cohort? Whether the company values the training can influence support provided.

• Time/capacity/headspace required which can impact work/life balance and career progression in current role.

• Can limit individuals career progression/perception of the company/motivation if working for a company/ in a role they no longer want to be at.

General approaches in your industry….

Consider reaching out to your network/forum on general industry viewpoints or stances.

Depending on whether payments have already been paid or not, consider whether you have conversations verbally or documented. E.g. it could be recommended in writing if agreeing future payments. Conversely you may not want it documented if already payments made and not robust training documentation procedures.

Employer perspective include….

What’s in it for us?

• What’s the potential return on investment e.g. through improved performance/motivation/ engagement/ reduced attrition?
• How can we maximise on the value of the training? E.g. employee to train others /share knowledge/develop internal skill sets/ gain access to any new friend formed?
• Will any new employee gains (e.g. certifications/qualifications) help us get awards / accreditations to promote our brand?
• Can we use this investment to promote our culture and how we care for our people?
• How can we gain insight in terms of whether this training is the best way to improve that knowledge/skills gap or could another approach be better?

• Develop internal talent who could then go on to improve in their role share knowledge (e.g. train the trainer situation).
• Retention: Tie them to the company with view on return on investment.
• Learning culture: Support employees with achieving their goals (even if not aligned with company) can mean that they stay for longer and are more positive about the company (positive ambassadors attract others).

One could argue that a good manager supports someone with acheivement of their life/career goals even if those goals will/can not be achieved at the company.

How realistic is it that repayments can /will be enforced?

Repayment agreements can be difficult to enforce.
Whilst a sum be taken from final pay slip for a leaver,  if an agreement has been paid. The amount could be restricted (e.g. if there is a cap on deductions).
If they refuse to pay or set up a payment plan, then is the company going to be willing to pay court fees to get it back? It would be unlikely that a hypothetical positive court outcome to get back costs would outweigh the
the financial/labour/reputations damage such a case could incur.

Is it standard in the market/industry to use them?

If yes, like exec share plans, a new company may look to buy employee out of current employer contract/agreement (thus cancelling part of the retention benefit).