BT announces new apprentice and graduate recruitment drive
BT is creating 1,700 new apprenticeship and graduate jobs as it continues to equip young people with the skills and training needed to meet the challenges of the evolving jobs market.
1,700 jobs to be created across the UK
BT is creating 1,700 new apprenticeship and graduate jobs as it continues to equip young people with the skills and training needed to meet the challenges of the evolving jobs market.
This year’s apprentice and graduate recruitment drive will see the new BT employees work in a variety of roles, ranging from cyber security and traditional engineering roles to production at BT Sport.
BT is committed to building a culture of tech literacy within the UK so that the country remains a digital leader. In the past two years BT has recruited nearly 2,500 apprentices and graduates and this year’s recruitment drive builds on that.
The company also funds and runs Barefoot Computing, a project that helps primary school teachers get confident with teaching computer science. One million children have already been reached via the programme which sees primary school teachers provided with resources and training, and BT plans to reach five million children by 2020.
BT is one of the UK’s largest employers with 81,000 UK-based people. The new roles, which include those with EE and Plusnet, are spread across a number of locations including London, Glasgow, Belfast, Sheffield, Nottingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Openreach, BT’s local access network business, will launch its own recruitment drive in due course.
A number of the recruits will be based at BT’s world-recognised labs at Adastral Park, near Ipswich, in Suffolk. This research centre is at the forefront of developing communications networks and is playing a leading role in the development of ultrafast broadband and 5G.
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister, Robert Halfon has welcomed the announcement. He said: “It is always good to talk about apprenticeships and the ladder of opportunity they give people to secure the career they want.
“By committing to injecting 1,700 new graduate and apprentice jobs into the UK, BT is offering a real chance to be trained by some of the best in their field.
“This is especially great news ahead of what will be the 10th annual National Apprenticeship Week where we will showcase the life-changing potential of apprenticeships for people up and down the country.”
Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT, said: “Young people today need three basic skills – reading, writing, and tech know-how. BT is investing in the next generation, helping to train primary school teachers to teach computer science and recruiting large numbers of apprentices and graduates. This is the right thing for us to do if the UK is to remain a digital leader.
“It is an exciting time to join BT as it continues to invest in ultrafast broadband, 4G, television and sport. We are also preparing for future technologies, including 5G, and so we want to recruit the very best. Our apprenticeship and graduate roles will offer people the hands on experience they need to succeed.”
/Ends
Notes to Editors:
- Further information on BT’s Apprenticeship Scheme can be found here:
http://www.btplc.com/Careercentre/earlycareers/apprentices/index.htm
• Graduates can apply for roles at BT at: http://www.btgraduates.com
