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.”
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.
