Telia partnered with AWS to launch an internal training programme designed to upskill 10 per cent of the Nordic operator’s total workforce on cloud technologies, in a major push to advance its ambitious digital transformation efforts.

In a statement, Telia explained the move was the largest AWS training programme in the Nordic region to date, covering 2,000 employees over the next three years.

It wants the programme to help further accelerate its cloud-first strategy and broaden its employees’ “cloud fluency across key functions”, in addition to enabling company-wide cloud adoption.

Telia argued there was a growing need for expertise in cutting-edge technologies including AI and machine learning, with more than 800 software developers at the group using AWS to build and operate cloud applications.

The training initiative aims to speed up its cloud ambitions and ensure employees have the right skills to build cloud-based machine learning applications, the operator claimed.

Rainer Deutschmann, COO at Telia, said the programme complemented a wider technology skills augmentation initiative and he was “very excited to see our talents grow and develop, which is a critical foundation for sustainable delivery of our transformation”.

Telia’s training programme follows two major cloud plays in the last week from fellow operator heavyweights.

Vodafone Group partnered with Google Cloud to build a European network performance platform and BT Group also struck an agreement with AWS to help towards building a cloud-first approach.