BT and Accenture have signed a five-year, £70 million business processing outsourcing contract for learning services.

The services to be provided under the new contract include technical and safety training, and the design, development and delivery of sales force and management training.

Commenting on the deal, Alex Wilson, BT Group human resources director said: "This contract will play a key role in BT's continuing transformation into a leading IT and network services organisation in the digital networked economy."

Accenture Learning will deliver the services, with the new contract taking effect 1 August. Ellen Balaguer, managing director of Accenture Learning, described BT's decision as "bold".

"Learning is becoming a strategic function that is instrumental to achieving business results for organisations, and this deal marks another bold step by BT to put itself at the forefront of the industry by placing learning at the heart of its business," she said.