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Training managers often complain that their budgets are the first thing to go in a recession. But after 15 years of steady investment in training in an increasingly professionalised third sector, that does not appear to have held true this time - at least, not to the same extent.

"In past recessions, training was always one of the first areas to be cut," says Will Campbell, principal learning and development consultant at the Management Centre, which runs training courses for charities. "But now organisations value training as a priority, especially if they are having to make redundancies."

But as charities strive to protect front-line services, training budgets have not escaped the knife. For its Learning and Talent Development Survey 2010, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development asked third sector training managers about their budgets. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents said their budgets had been cut since the recession began, 44 per cent said their budgets had stayed the same and 16 per cent said budgets had increased. Campbell estimates that the charities he works with have reduced their training budgets by an average of about 10 per cent. However, some have been hit harder than others: one organisation surveyed cut its training spend by 75 per cent.

Charities are no longer sending all managers on general training courses, according to Campbell. "Organisations are not going for what I call the 'sheep dip' approach to training," he says. Instead, more charities are opting for individual and small group coaching sessions that address specific weaknesses, particularly in senior executives. "It's a time when leadership is really under the spotlight," says Campbell. The sector also appears to be taking a day-by-day approach to spending - the average advance booking period has dropped from about six to three months.

In its Economic Outlook research, published in April, the Chartered Management Institute found that 23 per cent of charities were concentrating their spending on 'core' internal staff. Elaine Smethurst, head of workforce development at sector umbrella body the NCVO, says it is important to continue spending on key staff members. "Essential training, such as inductions and compliance and health and safety training, has been preserved," she says. "But anecdotally, the general development of leaders and managers has suffered." This, she says, is a mistake: "Training is not an additional spend - it is a necessity, and even more so in a recession."

A reduction in budgets does not necessarily mean the quality of training has to suffer, according to Smethurst. "Charities are finding cheaper ways to provide development for staff," she says. "This includes job shadowing across functions, sharing skills with other organisations, employee mentoring and e-learning, particularly for volunteers who can't commit to full courses."

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Source: Emily Ford, Third Sector