At the end of June, the CWU met with Telstra for the quarterly briefing on implementation of the NBN-related training programme which is being funded by the Commonwealth government.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the other Telstra unions and of the Department of Communications.
Telstra reported that, as might be expected, the largest area of training remains in NBN-related installations.
However, training has also now commenced in areas related to Telstra’s NBN design contracts ie in FTTN design, field inspection and network planning. Some 72 employees have received training in these areas over the last 6 months.
A further area of training has been in functions related to the transit network which is leased from Telstra by nbn. Telstra Service Operations (TSO) staff are now involved in monitoring this network and 42 have been trained in relevant functions so far this year. Future TSO training will also cover escalated assurance in relation to voice services over the NBN.
Training for Telstra Wholesale staff dealing with the processing of NBN orders is due to commence this month.
Telstra’s reported that only small numbers of employees had recently received training in delivery of its Digital Home services and that this reflected difficulties in getting release for those eligible. This has been an ongoing issue for field staff and reflects Telstra’s difficulties in meeting demand in the wake of ongoing redundancies.
Obviously, employees should not be paying for Telstra’s mismanagement by missing out on training opportunities. Members having trouble getting release for training should contact their state branch.