Québec and TELUS announce a $1.6 million training program and the creation of 149 jobs

    
    Booming popularity of smartphones: TELUS invests in superior-quality
    technical support
    

MONTREAL, Oct. 9 /CNW/ - The Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Sam Hamad, and the President of TELUS Québec, Karen Radford, announced today an investment of more than $1.6 million in a value-added training program, nearly $405,000 of which is from Emploi-Québec, and the creation of 149 new jobs within the company's Quebec technical support team.

An increasing number of wireless clients are buying smartphones to stay in touch with their family and friends while enjoying finger tip access to the information they need. The wide array of phones and the diverse functions they offer call for advanced technical skills and specialized training for technicians to assist customers quickly and easily.

"By supporting TELUS in developing its employees' skills, our government is once again showing the major importance attributed to manpower training. The Pacte pour l'emploi (Employment Pact) is evidence of the government's effort to enable Quebec businesses to improve productivity by capitalizing on employee training. This has a direct impact on the competitiveness of our economy and on the population's standard of living," said Minister Hamad.

Emploi-Québec's financial support will also go toward adapting TELUS' training to cater to the younger generation's learning styles. New programs will incorporate a greater number of interactive and multimedia tools.

"This partnership with the Government of Quebec allows us to continue to invest in the local economy while creating national career opportunities for Quebecers," said Karen Radford. "The innovative training program we have developed, thanks to the creativity of our local team, will enrich the quality of care we offer our growing base of customers here, and in other provinces."

In 2007, TELUS invested approximately $4.75 million in training activities for the 5,000 members of its Quebec team, helping them to reach their full potential and ensuring a higher level of expert service to customers.

The company also invested $3.5 million in 2006 to inaugurate a new call centre serving small and medium-size businesses outside of Quebec. The $211,000 in financial support from Emploi-Québec initially allowed for the creation of 105 jobs, but ultimately enabled the training of 150 new employees for this customer contact centre located in Montreal.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.4 billion of annual revenue and 11.4 million customer connections, including 5.8 million wireless subscribers, 4.3 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Forward-looking statements

This news release contains statements about expected future events and financial and operating results of TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future results and events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly this news release is subject to the disclaimer and qualified by the assumptions, qualifications and risk factors listed from time to time in TELUS' reports, public disclosure documents including Management's discussion and analysis, Annual Information Form, and in other filings with securities regulatory authorities in Canada and the United States. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

Contacts

Alexandre Boucher
Press Secretary
Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity
(418) 643-4810

Stacey Masson
Senior Manager
TELUS Media Relations
(514) 977-8766
Stacey.masson@telus.com