BT Global Services announced today that it has appointed the Manpower group of companies (including Manpower and Elan) to provide a master vendor contractor solution for the provision of external contractor resources for the next five years. Under the terms of the agreement, BT Global Services will consolidate its contractor agency relationships into a single supplier. Manpower and Elan will take on responsibility for the migration of BT Global Services' current contractor workforce and will supply future contractor workforce requirements in more than 100 countries.

This move is part of BT Global Services' drive to simplify its supplier base for contractors. This agreement will ensure that BT Global Services can mobilise resources quickly to support customer requirements in new and existing geographies.

Gary Bullard, President Global Business & Services, BT Global Services, said: "BT Global services needs access to the best resources - in terms of skills, experience, flexibility and cost. Combining this with our own capability and assets, we can provide customers with the best service possible. In addition, we needed to simplify our current supply chain and and with Manpower we have found a partner with the global reach and local know-how to help us achieve this quickly."

Barbara Beck, Manpower's president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "We're very pleased to extend our relationship with BT. We are confident this approach will deliver a greatly improved service and we are committed to helping BT Global Services deliver the best possible service to their customers."

BT and Manpower have worked together for over 18 years. Manpower has provided recruitment and HR solutions to a number of BT operating businesses including BT Retail, BT Global Services, BT Wholesale and BT OneIT. Elan, Europe's leading IT recruitment company and part of the Manpower group of companies has provided contractor recruitment services to BT Global Services on an international basis since 2004.

About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2006, BT Group plc's revenue was £19,514 million with profit before taxation of £2,040 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt  

About Manpower
Manpower is one of the largest and most innovative companies in the UK's employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The company provides a wide range of services including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, employee assessment and selection, training, outplacement, outsourcing and consulting.

Manpower was established in the UK in 1956, and today works with organisations in both the public and private sectors, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises, to multi-national organisations such as BMW, IBM, Royal Mail and Xerox.

The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction, enabling customers to concentrate on their core business. Manpower works across all industries finding people for every level of an organisation.

Manpower UK has a network of over 300 offices and is a subsidiary of Manpower Inc - a worldwide network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries and territories. Manpower Inc's scale enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations.

Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information on Manpower Inc. is available at www.manpower.com. Manpower Professional (formerly Nicholas Andrews) is the company's accountancy and finance arm, and was voted Recruiter of the Year by Accountancy Age magazine in 2005.

About Elan
A wholly owned subsidiary of Manpower Inc., Elan is Europe's leading IT&T recruitment specialist. Established in 1987 Elan operates from 14 countries and 45 offices worldwide, offering clients the benefits of a truly global presence and unrivalled local knowledge. Elan has over 6000 contractors currently working on thousands of client sites and continues to place thousands of permanent staff into their perfect position every year, consolidating further Elan's market leading position.

Elan's unparalleled portfolio of services from traditional permanent and contract recruitment through to Managed Service and Outsourcing continues to attract the best partners in IT. Clients include IBM, Reuters, Microsoft, NHS (including Connecting for Health, The Information Centre), BP, Thales, QinetiQ, General Dynamics, DEFRA and The Home Office.

For further information on BT
Inquiries about this news release can also be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK, dial +44 20 7356 5369. All BT Group news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.bt.com/newscentre. 

Justine Manche, BT Global Services PR, Tel: 020 7356 5371 or email: justine.manche@bt.com  

Judith Moore, Fishburn Hedges, Tel: 020 7544 3054 or email: Judith.moore@fishburn-hedges.co.uk  

For further information on Manpower and Elan
Jeremy Hay-Campbell, Manpower press office, Tel: 020 8870 2214 or email: jeremy@saltlondon.co.uk