ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

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1 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE The purpose of this policy is to provide information on College supported training, education, and development for staff. 2. KEYWORDS Training, courses, further education, development, conferences. 3. BODY OF POLICY 3.1. Background The College is an educational institution and as such is committed to supporting the continued education and development of its employees in their roles at the College Education and Training Options Staff training, development and further education is supported by the College in the following ways: Level 1: General skills and knowledge training in areas such as management and leadership skills, effective communication, interpersonal skills, team building and team dynamics will be organised and funded by the College s Human Resources department. Training workshops and sessions are organised throughout the year and attendance is voluntary. This category also includes mandatory College-provided training such as basic imis software training organised by the IT department. Level 2: Individual-specific training. Training needs identified between staff and managers that are specific to their job or department such as gaining a specific technical skill, knowledge in a software application, or required professional development should be organised by and paid for from the department. In general, attendance at a conference for the purpose of professional development relevant to the employee s role will be approved once every two years (for example industry expo, specialist industry conference); Training that is of a technical nature that is role specific and/or required as part of professional development credits or accreditation (required to maintain professional standards/qualifications) may be undertaken annually; Level 3: Work-related tertiary education that the College deems appropriate for the employee s line of work and career development within the College. Funding is provided by the College through the Human Resources Department Conditions for Individual Training The following conditions apply for the funding of individual-specific training or attendance at conferences: The training or professional need should be identified with their manager as part of the induction or performance review process; The training/conference must be work related; The training/conference must help employees develop in their current role; Managers/Directors must not approve for more than three College staff members to attend any one conference as attendees; Page 1 of 5 Review Date: August 2017

2 Where it is likely more than three College staff members are required to attend the same conference from same or multiple College Divisions, a request will be brought to the Directors meeting for discussion before attendance is approved by the manager. If exceptions to the maximum attendance of three College staff are required, a written request and justification is to be submitted by Director for CEO approval. Departments must ensure where multiple staff members are in attendance at the same conference/training that adequate resources remain on-site during their absence; Specific, appropriate training will need to be identified by the employee (with assistance from Human Resources, if required) and approval to attend sought from their manager; Approval for funding of training or conferences will be dependent upon funds available in the manager s training and education budget; Full conference registration may be paid; this will be the decision of the Divisional Director; If the conference is interstate, consideration may be given to funding airfares and accommodation. The Divisional Director will make the decision. The manager will ensure that their Director approves allocation of funding to the training; Once an employee resigns from the College, their access to training opportunities ceases. If an employee is registered for a training workshop or conference (internal or external) they must forfeit their reservation to enable the manager to send another employee if deemed appropriate. At the completion of the training/conference the employee will complete the Training Feedback form and report to their Manager on the usefulness of attending and proposed improvements to their performance and work practices; and The employee will ensure that a record of their attendance and the Training Feedback form is provided to Human Resources. The employee agrees to allow the College to recover the costs of the training/conference if the employee voluntarily leaves the College within six (6) weeks of attending the training by completing the Training Request form Conditions for Further (Tertiary) Education The following conditions apply for funding continuing tertiary education: The course must be work related and must help the employee develop in their current role or prepare for promotional opportunities within the College; See List of Approved Courses of Study under Associated Documents. The employee must discuss their intent to undertake a course with their Manager as part of the performance review process; Upon agreement that the employee will undertake a course, an Application for Further Education Assistance should be completed and submitted to their Manager and Divisional Director for approval. The form and relevant Page 2 of 5 Review Date: August 2017

3 Department: Human Resources documents should then be sent to the Human Resources Manager for review and final approval for participation. Employees must be permanent employees and have at least one year of service with the College before applying; The Chief Executive Officer will be consulted for any exceptions to the policy. Courses longer than 6 weeks may be paid to a maximum of 50% of the full cost of tuition (excluding text book or other fees); Short courses (no more than 6 weeks) may be paid in full (excluding the cost of text books); Applications for funding must be approved each year before the course is undertaken. Approval for funding of study will be dependent upon funds available in the College s training and education budget; The Manager must support requests for time off for the purpose of study leave. (For study/examination leave provisions refer to the Leave Entitlements policy). Upon successful completion, or in the case of longer courses, upon successful completion of each semester, funding for approved study will be provided. At the completion of each course employees are to report back to their Manager on the usefulness of attending and what aspects will be brought back to improving their performance and work practices. This discussion may occur through regular employee/manager meetings or through the performance review meetings held at least every 6 months. and By completing the Application for Further Education Assistance form, the employee agrees to allow the College to recover the costs of any tuition paid to the employee within a twelve (12) month period of voluntarily leaving the College Funding Information and Restrictions In addition to the above outlined criteria, no applications for funding will be approved retrospectively, i.e. after a course of study has begun. Consideration will be given for the time required to apply for and register for courses; thus, employees should seek in principal agreement from their Manager and Director to obtain financial support prior to registration if required. The College will not meet the costs of late fees, repeat course fees due to withdrawal or failure, tutoring fees, graduation fees and/or books. The College will not pay for fees in advance of the course being completed. Reimbursement is made directly to the employee upon course completion. No payments will be made directly to the educational institution or lending institution. Employees must disclose their initial source of funding on the Application for Further Education Assistance form. Employees who fund their education through a HECS- HELP loan will be liable for the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) incurred by the College as a result of reimbursing tuition fees to the employee. The maximum amount to which an employee can be reimbursed in a calendar year is $5,000. Page 3 of 5 Review Date: August 2017

4 4. ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS Procedure Leave Entitlements Policy Leave Entitlements Procedure Training Request Form Training Feedback Form Application for Further Education Assistance Form List of Approved Courses of Study (attached) Approver Authoriser CEO Council Page 4 of 5 Review Date: August 2017

5 LIST OF APPROVED COURSES OF STUDY FOR FURTHER EDUCATION SUPPORT Appropriate courses of study for which further education support may be granted by the College include but are not limited to: Business Office Administration Accounting/Finance Statistics Information Technology Human Resources Education and training Health Sciences Corporate Governance Information management (records, archives, library) Marketing Politics/public affairs Policy development Program evaluation If an employee wishes to pursue a course of study outside of the above listed areas and believes the course would be beneficial to their work or progress at the College, the employee may discuss this with their manager who should consult the Director, HR and CEO for advice on course approval. Page 5 of 5 Review Date: August 2017