Avanta hands Civica multimillion-pound outsourcing deal

IT services monolith wins £1m-per-year contract with employment training firm

Civica has bagged an IT outsourcing agreement worth more £1m per year with Avanta as it bids to get one million people back into work.

The employment-focused training company is now working with Civica to provide a communications infrastructure and technical support for up to 80 Jobcentre Plus facilities across the country.

Civica will provide a WAN infrastructure, integrated service desk and onsite engineers and aims to develop a responsive IT support platform suitable for any future corporate requirements.

The programme will be delivered in May 2012 and its three phases include: the transition to the infrastructure to meet Department for Work and Pensions deadlines; delivering the IT transformation; and striving for cost-effectiveness.

The contract with Civica will support Avanta's operations nationwide, which are designed to help people on state benefits to select, train for, obtain and retain employment that is suitable for their age and capacities.

Jon Quick, chief information officer at Avanta, said: "We have a dynamic and agile business and we needed a service model that reflected it."