First of 12 new national fibre engineering schools opens in Bradford
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, today welcomed news that Openreach, Britain’s leading digital network business, will hire 3,500 new trainee engineers over the next 12 months. The largest recruitment drive in the company’s history will see recruitment in communities from Penzance, in Cornwall to the Orkney Islands and follows an announcement last month that Openreach will accelerate plans to build more Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband infrastructure across the country.
The new roles will be located throughout Britain, with trainees joining the UK’s largest team of telecoms engineers working to expand, upgrade, maintain and install new services over Openreach’s national broadband network. Taken together, with an expected expansion in its supply chain, this will support the creation of around 5,000 new jobs in Britain over the coming year.
Openreach’s ‘Fibre First’ programme will deliver expanded FTTP networks in up to 40 towns, cities and boroughs, setting it on a trajectory to reach ten million British premises by the mid-2020s. It has committed to making FTTP available in three million British homes and business by the end of 2020 and, if the conditions are right, intends to go significantly further, bringing the benefits of FTTP technology to the majority of homes and businesses in the UK. The build will commence in eight cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said: “It’s great news that Openreach is creating 3,500 new permanent jobs rolling out full fibre broadband. This digital infrastructure will be welcomed by families and business across the country, and these new highly skilled jobs will be a boost to our talented workforce as we build an economy fit for the future.”
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