Hello,
So this great company I dedicated my life to decided that I was worth RAing last Thursday... Was wondering if IBM would still pay for certifications (ex.: CompTIA A+) taken outside that would cost money? Or we are not worth it anymore and they will let rot until the day we leave?
Its taxable as income as well. Ibm is making sure you get no free lunch.
In the "old days" I believe this money could be used for anything training related. I believe it's been narrowed down a bit since then. It's not as good as it first sounds.
If you're getting the Retraining Assistance Benefit from the RA package, it looks like certifications taken after you leave IBM may be reimbursed. Go to the link in the package. I suggest checking to make sure.
Would language skills be covered like a Rosetta software? Maybe it's time to brush up on that kind of stuff too
IBM has never valued certifications or degrees for that matter.
Newcollarhires remember, where there is no degree or cert required.
Make sure you look into the the WIOA Federal Grant program. It's backed by the Dept of Labor, and the states help run it. You can use the funds (up to 10K) to get certified in areas like Cisco, Comptia, VMware, Azure, PMP, etc. Life is better without IBM... believe me! Good luck to you all!
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wioa
Your manager should have gone over this with you, if not your Employee Information package has all details. Reimbursement up to $2500 after your last day and until 12 months for any job skill trading course. Need receipt and certification.
Suggest relevant programs like programming courses, cloud certs etc. courses for skills that are in demand.
Check your package last one had 12 months to submit receipts i believe was $2,000 .Not sure if that was offered this time around. Don't rely on your Manager to tell you .He/She knows less than you
OP here. That's what I thought anyway. YouTube is fine, but is not recognized as a valid certification. So much for "supporting me in anyway they can until I leave...". Thanks IBM...!
Typical layoffs do not provide funding for certification or real education. There are so many caveats as to what they would cover it is ridiculous. I went through this the same from a company IBM sold us to. In the end, none of it was really worth it. The company I went through for education had to manipulate their receipt and payment so I could be reimbursed. They laughed at all the garbage in their that would prevent being reimbursed for the education. After 3 tries, it was finally accepted.
@OP+158sNfIc: YOUTUBE is the best school in the world and Google is your true friend. Tons of folks
have uploaded videos on topics you are interested in. Why depend on a d—beat
company like IBM? CompTIA certification is a very basic certification anyway. Did you
did a search on Youtube or Google?
I have seen that the videos on Youtube that folks have uploaded give a better
understanding of the topic than any textbook available.
Not likely they'll pay for a cert now.
Sorry to be blunt, but, they are paying you money and expect productivity in return.
If the roles were reversed and your were the owner, would you pay for certifications for employees that will be gone shortly?