How BT iNet trains its staff months faster with Firebrand!
BT iNet is the networked IT Specialist of BT Business that provides Engineering, Project Management, and Sales Support Services across the country. The company came to Firebrand with the need for a bespoke training programme that would satisfy two requirements. One: to provide a refresher for all Cisco Unified Communications Engineers and Consultants, and two: cross-skill the Engineers with Cisco Routing & Switching skills.
âBT iNet is a flexible group of technical specialists, prepared to respond quickly to handle any project. As a result, we must keep up-to-date with the latest Cisco technologies and trends.â
âWeâre also committed to improving the work-life balance of our engineers and consultants. We sometimes had situations where an engineer would need to drive from southern England to the north â because they were the only person available with the necessary skills. We needed to increase our nationwide spread of skills â to become even more efficient, and even more flexible.â
âBT iNet holds a huge range of Cisco certifications, because we see the importance in proving the competence of the skills across our business. In fact, weâre Ciscoâs only partner in the UK to hold Masters certifications in Unified Communications, Security and Data Centerâ
Glyn Kennett
Head of Deployment Services
All the skills at more than twice the speed
Glyn knew exactly what training BT iNet required â but it wasnât what youâd find âoff the shelfâ. Glyn required flexibility, and provided a list of the elements of Cisco Routing and Switching that his team needed to learn. âThe reason we wanted to run bespoke training is two-fold. Firstly, as a refresher to Voice Engineers who didnât get heavily involved in that anymore, and secondly for the guys who have come straight into the Voice side of things, and donât have an R&S background to draw uponâ he said.
Glyn discussed his âwish listâ with Marcus Costerton, Firebrandâs Cisco Learning Consultant, and Dave Petts, Firebrandâs Chief Cisco Instructor. Firebrand then designed a course curriculum that provided all of the required knowledge, in the fastest possible time.
The biggest benefit to BT iNet was the speed at which the training would be delivered. Glyn describes: âThe main saving was in the amount of days away from work. Having engineers out of the business for long periods of time is a considerable cost and inconvenience, so Firebrandâs approach of keeping this to a minimum was very attractiveâ
The easy decision: 45 or 120 days?
A traditional delivery of this course would have been eight daysâ training for each of BT iNetâs 15 members of staff. With Firebrand, the course was only three days. This meant that the staff were out of the office for a combined 45 days, rather than the alternative of 120.
Glyn explains: âAs a result of attending this bespoke training, we now have the opportunity to use our workforce more effectively. Weâve reduced the amount of travelling time for engineers, because we have the skills we need distributed across the country. A happier workforce, and reduced costs, equals a win-win for us.
He concluded: âFirebrand balanced being incredibly fast with the reassurance that theyâre an official Cisco Learning Specialized Partner. So everything was official: the labs, courseware and instructor â which made it an even easier decision to make.â