BT is investing £15m in training 8,000 IT staff to transform itself from a telecommunications services company into a firm offering network and IT services to external customers.
The company aims to transfer thousands of IT staff away from non-core internal IT roles to higher-value work, including programme management, solutions design and systems integration.
Under the plans, BT will put more than 1,000 IT staff through externally recognised qualifications by the year-end, including Cisco skills, programme management, integration and design.
The move will provide BT staff with qualifications widely-recognised by potential customers.
“The training varies,” said Dave Butcher, director of transformation at BT. “In some cases it is really a formalisation of what is already there.
“In others, we have put together the right training package to enable individuals to do what is needed to get those skills.”
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The training includes e-learning, classroom training, work experience and job shadowing. BT is also putting staff through customer familiarisation training, which helps to prepare them for working on commercial projects.
“Over time, I would like to see the vast majority of our people being in a position that their skills relate to some position in the marketplace,” said Butcher.
