BT recruits more engineers in Cornwall as roll-out of super-fast broadband is stepped up
BT has recruited another 23 engineers in Cornwall as the roll-out of super-fast broadband in the county continues to gather momentum.
The new recruits, from a wide range of age groups, are almost all local people living in Cornwall. Nearly half are former armed forces personnel.
Most of the full-time posts are ‘customer service’ engineering roles, based in Truro, Bodmin and St Austell, visiting local households and businesses to provide new telecoms services or carry out repairs.
The recruits replace engineers who have moved to jobs supporting the Superfast Cornwall programme, which aims to make high-speed fibre optic broadband available to 95 per cent of Cornish premises by the end of next year. About three quarters of homes and businesses in the county already have access to the sophisticated technology.
Marion Brailey, senior operations manager in Cornwall for Openreach, BT’s local network business, said: “We have been delighted by the very high standard of our latest recruits. They have a fantastic attitude and show a great enthusiasm and motivation. Demand for new services is very buoyant so they will certainly be kept busy.”
The recruits are spending a month on induction training prior to joining the Openreach engineering force, which now numbers more than 300 in Cornwall.
Among the recruits is Guy Daniels, aged 33, who lives in Truro and was until recently a project officer for Superfast Cornwall. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me,” he said. “It’s great to be part of an industry, which is playing such a major, exciting role in the future of Cornwall. I have no doubt that telecommunications will play an increasingly important part in the prosperity of the county in the years ahead.
“Getting out and about and helping local businesses and households make the most of the technology can be very rewarding. I had worked for BT when I was younger – firstly as a customer service adviser at the BT contact centre in Truro and then as an Openreach engineer, but then I left to do some travelling around the world. Now it’s great to have the opportunity to come back and do a job I really enjoy.”
Superfast Cornwall is a £132 million pioneering partnership between the EU, BT and Cornwall Council. Its roll-out of fibre broadband is setting the standard for rural areas across Europe.
END
