to not want to pass on my skills for free?

[newsparklythings]

The background here is before I had children I worked at a higher level and a different field. I have one child so far. Have taken on a lower level position which I enjoy but is not as challenging. It has good flexible working options.

Quite a few staff including some recent recruits are on a contract earning more than me (we are on bandings, they may earn £10k more per year for example). They are mostly younger, and male though not all.

I have been asked a few times if I could 'just' pass on some of my training / abilities to these staff, as managers (not necessarily those who recruited them, they were given them to manage) identify there is a gap between the employees' competency and what their jobs involve.

AIBU to feel a bit put out about this? I haven't got a problem with the concept of supporting colleagues. My job description doesn't exactly match what I do anyway and I acknowledge it is part of being at work that we share skills. This is more along the lines of 'could you just train them in Prince2'

I suppose my reluctance stems from feeling my skills are what give me my value in the workplace, and I have had to pay for a number of qualifications from my own pocket.

What Lulu said.
In one way, there is the point that you have chosen to take on a lesser role so you don't have the stress / so you have more time with your dc. Personally, I'd be happy to do something a bit more stimulating to challenge my brain etc, so probably would help folk who didn't have my skill set, but I understand why some people wouldn't.
If it is the sort of role where you could renegotiate your contract - then that sounds like a plan, but with added responsibility and pay, would you then not be going back into the type of role you chose to give up, to have more time for your dc?
It's always a balance of course, and depends how much you are being asked to do / if you'd need to prepare training or if it is something you can just show someone as you go along, in your work time anyway / how bored you are in your current role / what your longer term plans are / if your qualifications and experience will be useful to you in 10 years time when perhaps you might be looking for more hours or responsibility / etc.etc. I don't think it is as clear cut as some are making out.

some good points back

Can you not set yourself up in a limited company as a "consultant" . Charge your company for your services as a consultant and offer the training as something the company buys in from you . I do have sympathy, you are not being asked to mentor a colleague, you are providing valuable training which should be recognised and paid for since it is benefitting the company.

I think the word "valuable" is a good one to counter the word "just"... you can use this thread to set up a whole new set of vocab!

I don't think you can refuse to share skills. surely you have a duty to follow reasonable instructions as an employee?

Just saw it is Prince2 training, my daughters workplace recently trained staff in Prince2 , it cost a small fortune, but I got the feeling that the Prince2 people had the training and testing pretty sewn up to stop people training others unofficially.

YANBU. I say that whilst carrying out work that previous staff were paid at a higher band to do, having trained my own manager (also at higher band with pay increments) to do this work. I'm leaving in 4 weeks and the employer can go fuck themselves. They need to learn that equal pay means equal, nor "the minimum we xan get away with".

Where I worked we were encouraged to ‘go the extra mile’ which is fine - to a point.

But sometimes employers do take the piss. Sometimes it’s away out of paying for some one qualified or with the right skill set.

op wages won’t be going up, she opted for a lesser role, it’s nothing to do with not wanting to use your brain either

I taught sports for over a decade, in which led in to new teachers shadowing me, which I was fine with for the first six years then i was asked to fill in for the manager, then when the ‘new’ manager appeared I had to ‘help’ them settle in ( basically shadowed me for 18 months)

When I asked for a pay raise to acknowledge recognition they said ‘no money in the pot’

op just say no more or look for another placement else where

Dear Boss,

Whilst I'd value the opportunity to gain new skills in a training capacity I can't help but feel slightly out out that the skills I have aren't worth an equivalent salary to those I am supposed to train. I'd be delighted to take on more responsibility and have a wider area of work but this would need to be be negotiated with a view to a title change and an increase in salary. Perhaps we could have a meeting to discuss this on X date at Y time?"

Or

"Dear Boss,

Thank you for considering me with regards to the additional training for new colleagues. I'm afraid I don't feel competent enough to be a trainer especially as I am looking for further experience in those competencies to deepen my knowledge.

I'd be grateful of an opportunity to expand my job role to take on more project management but I'm afraid I am unable to teach what I know at this time."

It is a tricky one. I worked for a period at a lower grade and it was difficult as you obviously don't forget your key skills regardless of what you are being paid.

I guess it depends if you are planning on staying there for a while.
If you are - and you don't intend to increase responsibility or grade - then I'd go with a response that you'd like to help but you're not a qualified trainer and also things move on so you'd be worried that what you'd be sharing isn't the up to date view of things. You could also explain that as you aren't a trainer the best way you could share information is in a 121 mentoring capacity, but that wouldn't be appropriate with colleagues more senior than you.

If you aren't bothered about the long term with this company, then just say no.

No. You tell them no unless you get adequately compensated for duties outside your job description. I have a degree and a professional qualification in an area not related to my job, I occasionally do a little freelance work in that field to keep my hand in and my qualification alive. It's on my resumé and I've had employers try and exploit this area of skill without offering additional compensation in the past. I told them they didn't pay me enough to retroactively introduce this work as part of my contracted duties. If they wanted those services in addition to or included in my actual job then they needed to pay the going rate for them.

I'd be finding out the day rate for a trainer in the particular field. It may become glaringly obvious why they "just" asking. You can be grateful for flexibility but everyone has a limit.

For me it depends on exactly is being asked.

Full on classroom type training - no, I'm not a trainer and wouldn't feel confident
Spending a bit of time with a few colleagues to impart some of the very general principles of prince2? Not a problem at all, happy to support and will add it to my cpd and my performance review to build a case for a salary increase

I suspect they mean the second one? In which case it's probably covered under a job flexibility clause and/or job spec as "other duties reasonably requested by the business"

Maybe find out what they actually mean and want from you?

Is there any reason you don't want to be promoted? If they need someone with these skills, just pleasantly remind them you have these skills and they are welcome to promote you into a role where you can use them.

As others have said, tell your company that you would be delighted to discuss a new role that encompassed managing part of the induction training of new recruits and how would they like to proceed with the negotiation - should you or they draft a proposal?

I'd ask for a meeting and question why I was on less than them when I had more skills and use this to negotiate a pay rise, change of job description/duties and more challenging work or responsibility.

Eliza, the op is on less money as she took on a lower level position.

I do n’t think refusing to train colleagues is wise, it’s a reasonable requirement and could be career effecting if you refuse. I also think it’s time to loose your resentment of your colleagues, it’s not their fault you paid personally for your qualifications, or that you choose a lower position, and the fact they are mostly men is irrelevant.

YANBU. I'd answer with user's proposal.

Just tell them that your current salary doesn't reflect your higher level of skill in that particular area, if they want you to engage your brain and train people how to do it, then they will have to cough up the cash. Or words to that effect.

Just because you have, say, a qualified accountant who took a career break and is now working part-time to process your invoices, you can't expect them to use accountancy-level skills and teach your already highly-paid office manager how to prepare your final accounts. For instance.

I disagree with northern here as it’s a specific project management training course they want OP to train people on, not something specificto their company such as how to use our X system. To get this particular qualification, someone has to pay for it and it’s not usually your employer.
On the other hand if Work said X needs practical help with completing a specific task, then OP could help or actually sounds more like the appropriate person to help with on the job training would be that persons manager or a colleague in the same role and not the OP as she’s not doing the job.
YANBU.

YADNBU

I think Prince 2 was an example

Is "training" in your contract?
Is it - realistically - part of "any other duties"?
Are they skills that you have acquired in that workplace - or elsewhere?
Are they this-exact-job related skills?
How does your JD relate to the other JDs - if you are graded there is usually a set of types of roles set out that are consistent. Is this training beyond your pay grade?

All of it begs the question why they have taken on people without the competencies for the role?

YADeffoNotBU btw

Have to say being a project manager is far far more stressful than training people to be a project manager.

Any other duties clause is usually "commeasurate with the role"

Being asked to train/coach/help on something not even included in the skill set for that role ... is certainly not commeasurate with the role.

OP would it help to think of the words as a red herring? The language is being used to obscure what's being done.

The reality is they are massively taking the piss and they know it. I'd ignore all the waffly flowery words and go straight to the counterattack. A very calm professional negotiation which you have pre-prepared as much as possible, down to memorising power phrases and focusing your mind. Expect, and don't be distracted by, spurious issues raised and emotional pressure applied!

"I've had a chance to think about what you said and I would be happy to do X and Y assuming we could come to an agreement on grade and renumeration.."