Ericsson has trained 40,000 staff through its intranet in
the last year as its business focus shifted from telecoms to mobile Internet.
Britt Reigo, senior vice-president of the Ericsson’s people
and culture department, said it was part of the corporate strategy in a company
that has recruited 80,000 people worldwide in the past eight years.
The IT technical ability test takes a skilled employee 15
minutes to pass, but a less experienced person has to learn certain terms and
information before they succeed. Reigo said it was part of a “competence shift”
to move the mindset of the organisation into a cutting edge mobile Internet
company.
Reigo outlined how the Ericsson University was set up to
support corporate business strategies.
Ericsson employs 100,000 staff in 140 countries. “It is 125
years old and the challenge has been to transform that in a very short time
into a successful, modern mobile Internet company,” Reigo said.
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To attract the best high-fliers from around the world, the
company launched Excellerate, which had 2,000 applicants from the top
universities, often with three languages and two degrees. It expects to recruit
225 this year. It uses its website and recruitment agencies to find these people.
Catriona Marchant reports from HR Summit 2001 – Human
Resources Solutions for Europe, held in Montreux, Switzerland, 18-20 February,
organised by marcusevans events
