NBN on Monday said it would spend $40 million to attract and train 4,500 industry workers to help hit its target of connecting 8 million homes to the network by 2020. The current construction workforce is expected to double to 9,000 workers as a result of the investment. Around 1300 positions will be available in NSW and the ACT, 850 in Queensland, 800 in Victoria, 850 in Western Australia, 400 in South Australia and the Northern Territory, and 200 in Tasmania. NBN CEO Bill Morrow said to bring high speed broadband to Australians faster, delivery partners will need a bigger pool of trained, skilled workers. The company plans to attract school leavers and workers coming off other construction jobs, building training and re-skilling programs with tailored career paths. NBN said it intends to expand the industry’s workforce to meet construction and activation requirements, and long-term opportunities will be created as the network moves into ongoing operations and maintenance. The company is looking for telco copper cable jointers, telco lines workers, cablers, telco technicians and electrical lines workers. “To those with telco experience, there are options to use your skills to become a teacher and coach for the next generation of workers,” Morrow said. “To those thinking about what course or career to pursue, our partners are developing options that will include training and real job opportunities on the NBN network over the long term,” he added. NBN is signing agreements with training organisations, including TAFEs, in every major rollout region across the country. A national NBN skills register will be established to record worker accreditations across the network. Internet Australia said it supported the plan to engaged retired telco workers and create an expanded workforce to roll out the NBN. “We particularly encourage them to create jobs for young people, especially those living in regional and remote areas,” Internet Australia, CEO, Laurie Patton said in a statement. “It’s not just the construction phase that requires this additional workforce, there’s also ongoing maintenance of the system well into the future.” Related content Feature Industry clouds prove their business value Born of partnerships and ecosystem-centric by their nature, cloud solutions aimed at specific verticals are taking root, forming a complex, rapidly evolving market CIOs must be strategic about entering. By Paula Rooney Mar 24, 2023 7 mins Cloud Computing Feature What is data governance? Best practices for managing data assets Data governance defines roles, responsibilities, and processes for ensuring accountability for and ownership of data assets across the enterprise. By Thor Olavsrud Mar 24, 2023 10 mins IT Governance Frameworks Big Data Data Mining BrandPost Stay in Control of Your Data with a Secure and Compliant Sovereign Cloud By Stan Kwong Mar 23, 2023 6 mins Cloud Security Cloud Computing News Accenture to lay off 19,000 to cut costs amid economic uncertainty Technology services giant Accenture will continue to hire but meanwhile is cutting staff to streamline operations in the face of economic headwinds. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 23, 2023 2 mins IT Consulting Services Technology Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe