Accenture scores $67m Telstra training contract

Stuart Corner
Friday, 03 March 2006 04:39

IT People - Training

Telstra has announced that it will spend $67million over the next five years with Accenture on new training initiatives for its field staff in the first phase of a planned $200 million staff training program previewed in Telstra's strategy day last November.

At that event, in response to a Dorothy Dixer from CEO Sol Trujillo, Telstra's COO, Greg Burns said: "We're investing over $200 million in training over the next few years for our field forces and the appropriate engineers and staff. We're making it one of the number one transformation initiatives ...We are going to train our people, they're going to be the best trained in the industry, not just in Australia but in the industry, and all of our partners that I've announced earlier have signed up for the training initiatives."

Announcing the $67m deal today, Telstra Network and Technology executive managing director, Dan Burns, said the Accenture agreement was an integral component of a broader staff training program. Telstra Services group managing director, Michael Rocca, said the arrangement would establish a new Telstra Learning Academy, that would design and conduct specialist training for its field workforce.

"Under this agreement, Telstra is using Accenture's global expertise so our field staff are skilled in new technologies and can deliver better service to our customers. Telstra is undergoing a major transformation with the introduction of many new products and advanced technologies. The new Telstra Learning Academy will help ensure field staff have the skills to build, run and maintain these technologies.

Academy staff will be based in existing Telstra training centres in Sydney and Melbourne, with trainers travelling across Australia to work with employees. The new academy is planned to be fully operational in six months. "Accenture's program will include development of training content with a focus on using real-life customer and network technical scenarios," Telstra said.

Telstra said that further announcements about its training program would be made in the coming months.