6 December 2015
Up to 700 new high-skill jobs will be created in the heart of Melbourne over the next several years to support the Federal Government’s National Broadband Network (nbn) including greater cyber protection, Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said.
“In addition to expanding its Network and Services Operations Centre (NSOC) in Docklands, nbn is establishing a new Cyber Security Operations Centre the front line for defending the nbn against cyber-attack,” Minister Fifield said.
“In coming years, millions of Australians will be reliant on the nbn, so it is vital that continued cyber security for this important infrastructure is protected and in place at all times.
“Highly skilled technical specialists will be employed at the new 24-hour facility and additional roles will be created in specialised ICT and engineering, as well as technical support and administration,” Minister Fifield said.
The Federal Government also welcomes the Victorian Government’s contribution to the support of nbn jobs in Victoria.
In recent years, nbn has established several facilities in Victoria including the network’s nerve centre and equipment testing hub. The nbn workforce based in Victoria currently stands at more than 2,300. nbn also operates a customer service centre on the Gold Coast and its corporate headquarters are based in Sydney.
With the introduction of broadband over HFC and vectored VDSL services, the nbn footprint is planned to double every year for the next three years. The internal nbn workforce will grow in key skill areas including HFC engineering, ICT operations and technical support as the network expands.
Across Australia, nbn predicts around 4,500 new construction jobs will be created to support the scaled rollout of the nbn. This will see the current project construction workforce doubled to around 9,000 workers.
The company has recently embarked on one of Australia’s largest workforce training initiatives to support a faster rollout. nbn is investing nearly $40 million over the next four years to drive skills-based training programs for its new workforce.
The nbn rollout is gathering pace in Victoria with the start of fibre-to-the-node construction. This technology removes the need for in-home rewiring and civil work on private property. This week the nbn will reach yet another milestone, ticking over 1.5 million premises now in the network footprint.
nbn is on track to complete the network by 2020. Within the next three years construction will start to around 2.5 million Victoria homes and businesses.
Media contact: Justine Sywak | 0448 448 487 | Justine.Sywak@communications.gov.au