Entry level employees on average reported a need for more training than employees in other grade levels, with an average of 49 skills. Journey level staff and middle level managers both average around 35 skills, while upper management reported training needs for an average of 23 skills.

Respondents in all grade levels said they need training in management skills. Middle level managers expressed a need training in both general management skills (such as project management and leadership) and IT management skills (such as IT strategic planning and risk assessment), while upper level managers concentrated more on the IT management skills. Entry, journey and middle management levels all said they need training in security. Entry level staff reported a need for the broadest range of training, including security, databases, system development, and networking topics, as well as management skills. Journey level respondents predominately focused on more general management, web-related, and security training. Middle managers were the only group to express high need for the management and use of information as an asset (e.g., knowledge management and workflow management).

We found no age-related differences in training demand. Younger (39 and younger) and older (40 and older) employees both say they need training in similar sets of skills. In addition, no significant differences appeared among small, medium, and large agencies with respect to the pattern of training demand.