BT and Accenture agree £70m BPO deal

Five-year deal for learning services...

BT has signed a £70m five-year business process outsourcing (BPO) deal with Accenture for learning services.

The deal, which comes into effect on 1 August, 2005, is principally a renewal of a previous agreement between BT and Accenture and also complements a 10-year human resources outsourcing contract between the two companies, signed in January this year.

Under the deal with Accenture Learning, BT will outsource technical and safety training around a number of core technologies such as data, switching and transmission.

Alex Wilson, BT Group's HR director, said in a statement: "This contract will play a key role in BT's continuing transformation into a leading IT and network services organisation."

Ellen Balaguer, MD of Accenture Learning, added: "Learning is becoming a strategic function that is instrumental to achieving business results for organisations, and this deal marks another bold step by BT to put itself at the forefront of the industry by placing learning at the heart of its business."