Month: March 2018

The cover of the new 2018/19 Jersey Directory, being delivered to homes and businesses from this month, celebrates one of our Island’s greatest ambassadors, the iconic Jersey cow, and highlights how technology is changing the face of farming.

Over the years, the Jersey Directory cover has aimed to focus on parts of Island life where JT is helping to make a positive difference. She may not know it but the star of this year’s cover, Roseland Roy Boy Tulip, who was born in October 2017 at Cowley Farm in St Saviour, is a living example of the latest smart farming practices.

Tulip has an electronic tag on her ear which connects to a computer via a radio link, providing the farmer with rich information in real-time about her behaviour, location and wellbeing. For example, a monitor beside each milking unit in the parlour can identify Tulip and every other cow in the herd, and based on her age and other statistics, the computer will know exactly how many litres of milk she should produce and how much food she needs to support that. This technology also allows Jersey Dairy, which sells its products globally, to evidence the origins of the Island’s famous export.

Devices communicating automatically with other devices (called the Internet of Things, or IoT) is expected to play an even greater role, not just in agriculture but in all our lives. This is why JT is helping Digital Jersey to build a state-of-the-art research centre to encourage more IoT business start-ups, foster technological education for local students and encourage off-island organisations to use Jersey as a testbed.

For Becky Houzé of Lodge Farm in St Saviour, science and technology is visibly improving productivity, efficiency and animal welfare. “I have the cows’ whole life history at my fingertips, and I can be completely confident that the data is accurate and reliable,” she said. “This wouldn’t be possible without JT’s full-fibre broadband and 4G networks and it’s definitely a real-life example of their investment paying dividends.”

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Head of Brand, Marketing and Distribution, said: “Each year, we aim to choose a cover for our Jersey Directory that captures how technology is having a positive effect on the lives of Islanders in some form or other.  We have had very positive feedback from farms in Jersey, where our full-fibre network is already helping Becky and others to automate processes that previously took a lot of time and energy to deliver and record. So, this felt like the ideal cover for this year.”

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JT has learned that Tom Noel, Managing Director of JT International, has been shortlisted in the 2018 Institute of Directors Jersey, Director of the Year Awards. Tom has been nominated in the Director of the Year – Innovation category. 

 Jersey born and educated, Tom has led JT International since 2016. The division (formerly called JT Wholesale) is charged with utilising capacity in JT’s world-class infrastructure by developing new global business streams. Promoting a culture of innovation among his team of 60 people, Tom has developed and successfully sold a number of market-leading products, built on JT’s 700+ roaming agreements with other mobile network operators.

JT Chief Executive Officer Graeme Millar said: “I’m delighted to see Tom shortlisted for these prestigious awards. Having been honoured to have received an IoD award in 2012, I’m aware that Jersey is fortunate to have so many capable leaders and it is important that we recognise and celebrate their contribution.

“Tom left Jersey to go to university in the UK and he later worked in Switzerland and Ireland before returning to Jersey, in the knowledge that his skills and experience would be valuable. JT is fortunate to be part of a growing digital sector in Jersey, and I hope Tom’s shortlisting inspires others to explore the many opportunities available locally in the technology and digital industries.

“Tom’s nomination also recognises the important contribution of JT International, which not only allows JT to invest global revenues back into the Channel Islands but also enables new technologies to be used locally, such as an innovative low-power radio network that we have recently built in partnership with Sony.”

The winners will be announced at the IoD Jersey Director of the Year Awards Gala Dinner on Friday 27 April at the Hotel de France.  All Jersey winners will be put forward for the UK IoD Director of the Year Final Awards later this year.

PRESS RELEASE

As part of the Bosdet Foundation End of Year Wish campaign, JT has donated two PS4 controllers and two Wii controllers to the St Lawrence Youth Project, and has now completed a free assessment of the Jersey Women’s Refuge’s Wi-Fi and migrated the property to fibre, enabling families to enjoy a faster and more reliable broadband service

The Bosdet Foundation pairs up organisations with companies and individuals who can help support them in achieving charitable aims.

For the winter Battle of Flowers Parade, the Bosdet Foundation invited local organisations to create a Christmas stocking to decorate its float. Each stocking contained a wish, that the Foundation aims to help fulfil throughout 2018.

Alan Le Pavoux, Charity Manager of the Bosdet Foundation, said: “We received over 30 stockings with wishes attached. What surprised us most was that the majority of wishes were about societal changes and improving Jersey – which sadly is a lot harder a wish for us to grant. Next year we are going to invite organisations to write two wishes – one a wider issue wish and another a material wish that can benefit the organisation.

“I would like to thank JT for choosing to grant two wishes which we approached them about, as I know it means a lot to the organisations.”

Tamara O’Brien, Head of Customer Experience JT, said: “The organisations in Jersey that support our Islanders are unparalleled. We had already worked with the St Lawrence Youth Project Family Fun day last year and were so impressed by the students’ dedication and mature manner. Which is why we are so glad we can also grant them their wish for 2018 so that more of their members can play the same games, at the same time.

“The Women’s Refuge is also well known for its remarkable work in the Island so again we were really happy to be able to work with them to help grant this wish to help centre-users access fast and reliable Wi-Fi over our full fibre network. Supporting projects like this and the work of the Bosdet Foundation is very important to us as a local organisation.  So many of our team live and work on Jersey and we try where we can to support causes that really can make a difference to the community in which we live and work.”

Anna Shipley, Assistant Youth Worker at the St Lawrence Youth Project, spoke to some of the members and asked them what JT’s donation meant to them.

Tom Clayton, said: “I think JT has been extremely generous”, and Will Wheatley added: “We can play with more people and more can get involved. Everybody can socialise and others can play the same game at once.”

Marine Oliveira, Domestic Abuse Prevention Advocate at the Jersey Women’s Refuge, said: “We were incredibly surprised and grateful to hear that JT was going to consider our wish. Any help or suggestions for improvements JT can give us will be gratefully received – our Wi-Fi is used by children to do their homework and stay in contact with friends, by staff to fulfil their duties and by the women who come to us for refuge to search for jobs and new homes. We would like to thank the Bosdet Foundation and JT for answering our wish for 2018 and not just reviewing but upgrading our system.”

Next year, the Bosdet Foundation is hoping to display tree decorations at businesses across the island linked to a family scavenger hunt to find the most wishes. We hope that businesses and individuals can help make some of the wishes come true. If you would like to join the wish project next Christmas please email alan@bosdet.je

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This International Women’s Day JT is celebrating the diversity of its people with a workforce comprising of 25% women, well above the UK average for the technology industry. JT recognises that diverse teams are known to be more creative, more productive and more successful.

International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political accomplishments and contributions of women. As a progressive employer, JT hopes to encourage more women to pursue a career in telecommunications by highlighting the diversity and opportunities that already exist at JT.

In the UK the number of women working in technology is significantly lower than most other UK work sectors, with just 17% of those working in the industry being female; however, as more is being done to encourage women to pursue careers in technology and IT roles, this is changing.

Of the 167 women who work at JT, 77% are on permanent full-time contracts, 7% work in engineering, traditionally perceived as a male preserve and 20% of JT’s current interns and graduates are female.

Jo Waring-Hockley, Group Human Resources Director is the senior female member working as part of the JT Executive Committee additionally, there are nine other female members of the Leadership team at JT, said: “In advance of International Women’s Day, we wanted to recognise the significant role women play in our business and further encourage women to apply for roles typically seen as male orientated, such as engineers and technicians. At JT, we have surpassed the UK average of female employees in the tech industry. Our teams include and are led by many women in a broad range of roles from directors to engineers, marketers to cloud specialists

“At JT, we support all our employees regardless of gender and want to ensure every career at JT is supported and nurtured. We are committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and have made an effort to ensure everyone feels valued. For example, we make sure new mothers and fathers are aware of our flexible working options, so they can work around their children. Over 13% of the JT female workforce are on our flexible working scheme while 15% work on a reduced-hour programme.”

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