Retraining connects Fujitsu Telecom with new business opportunities : Employees' new skills set company on path to growth

Purpose – This paper aims to describe an award‐winning training program at Fujitsu Telecommunications, which enabled the 55 employees at Fujitsu's Antrim plant in Northern Ireland to move from their traditional concentration on mending telecommunications equipment to repairing and recycling warn or damaged point‐of‐sale and information‐technology equipment for resale across Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains the reasons for the program, the form it took and the results it achieved. Findings – The paper reveals how the training not only protected existing jobs but also paved the way 55 percent growth of the business in 2010 and a further 32 percent in 2011 and 2012. Practical implications – The paper recounts how the training focused on building a core team with the practical experience, skills and confidence to deliver on‐the‐job training to smaller groups in a familiar environment . Social implications – The paper explains how Fujitsu Telecom protected its workforce in its entirety while it conducted the reskilling process. Originality/value – The paper highlights the sense of mutual ownership of the training achieved by engaging the whole team in group discussion