Gillard government invests $4m in Vodafone
- 01 March, 2013 14:49
- Comments 1
The Gillard government is providing $4 million to [xref:http://www.arnnet.com.au/tag/vodafone|Vodafone|All on Vodafone]] Hutchison Australia to facilitate the creation of 750 new customer service jobs in Hobart.
The funding will be used for recruitment, training and the accommodation of new staff, as well as access to existing government programs for training and support.
In addition, the Tasmanian government will provide $850,000 for infrastructure costs and waiving payroll tax for Vodafone’s new employees.
Vodafone plans to create up to 70 extra jobs each month over the next year – 750 jobs in total – by expanding its call centre headquarters at Kingston. The new jobs would include positions in highly skilled and technical roles.
This move will double the size of Vodafone’s Tasmanian operations.
Vodafone CEO, Bill Morrow, said the expansion is in line with a renewed focus on customer service announced in October last year.
“Our customers' needs and expectations are constantly changing, and we need to do the same to ensure we continue to deliver the service expect and deserve. Our Tasmanian call centre investment plays a vital role in delivering the services Australians have asked for,” he said.
Morrow claimed the investment was an example of how both government and private industry can work together to create jobs, respond to consumer preferences about service delivery and support local communities.
In a statement, the Gillard government said its commitment to work together Vodafone will increase the skills of the Tasmanian workforce and enable it to harness the benefits of the NBN.
It stated the NBN is at an advanced stage at Kingston and will feature in Vodafone’s longer-term planning of the services delivered out of the expanded centre. “This is an exciting opportunity for Tasmanians and a welcome development. It will provide training, employment and business opportunities for the region,” Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, said.
She added that other significant benefits include the building and operation of new infrastructure and the flow on effects to the local economy.
When the new employment initiative is fully operational, it is expected to deliver the Tasmanian economy more than $45 million per year in direct payroll contributions. Through the staff growth, Vodafone also aims to expand its customer care facilities within the Tassie region.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email ARN
- Follow ARN on twitter
- McAfee Whitepaper: Building the Business Case for Privacy
- Virtualization and Consolidation Solutions
- New Gateway Anti-Malware Technology Sets the Bar for Web Threat Protection (Sponsored by McAfee)
- Cloud and Co-Location Solutions
- Modernizing Security for the Small and Mid-Sized Business – Recommendations for 2013 (Sponsored by McAfee)
-
Titan falls: Today's top supercomputer is owned by China, powered by Intel
-
Armidale hosts fastest wireless NBN in Australia: Fusion Broadband
-
Armidale hosts fastest wireless NBN in Australia: Fusion Broadband
-
Armidale hosts fastest wireless NBN in Australia: Fusion Broadband
-
Armidale hosts fastest wireless NBN in Australia: Fusion Broadband
Get exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events. 
Comments
Gordon Drennan
1
This is a truly appalling decision by the Gillard government, but all too typical of its poor stewardship of our money.
Vodafone has lost huge amounts of money and lost many of its customers because it has provided really really poor service, and is being sued by 10s of thousands of its ex-customers, so our government is using our tax money to prop it up. Our money should be going to companies that are being well managed that are doing the right thing, not to help companies that are failing because they are poorly managed and have done the wrong thing.
This is even worse than the government giving billions to Holden and Ford to prop them up despite their problems being that they weren't building cars Australians wanted.