Training just one individual on an external course, with the intention of that person training everybody else, is also a way of keeping costs to a minimum. However, if the person who has attended the training course has not absorbed all the necessary information, during what is often a very intensive experience, then this could lead to a situation where the gis system is wrongly perceived by other members of the department to be difficult to understand and master.
Whatever course of action is taken to minimise the cost of training the end result could sometimes lead to more cost . For example when the significant investment of a gis system is under utilised or just not used at all because of a lack of understanding of the gis system functionality. This could also happen when a trained member of staff moves on and before leaving is assigned the task of training someone in how to use the gis system. On some occasions this training is given over a couple of hours or less and can leave the recipient feeling overwhelmed and confused. Alternatively the training may only cover a specific task leaving the recipient unable to engage in other general gis tasks because of lack of understanding of basic gis capabilities.
Whilst larger authorities can usually rely on a dedicated gis team to handle all their training and support requirements many of the smaller authorities have insufficient funds or requirements for dedicated staff. In the circumstances the need for using external training has to be included in the training budgets. This gis budget is often part of an overall training pot and may be lost to other training programs that are deemed to be of a higher priority.
However, many organisations within the public sector have invested significant sums in gis systems. The need to ensure that these systems are fully utilised to ensure maximum benefit is not going to change whatever the financial climate. That is why appropriate training must be seen as an important element within the overall gis budgeting process.