BT announces recruitment drive

BT has announced it is creating about 26 new apprenticeship jobs in the West Midlands in its drive to equip young people with the skills and training needed to meet the challenges of a changing jobs market.

The apprentices will be recruited in several locations across the region, including Oswestry and Shrewsbury

This year’s BT apprentice and graduate recruitment, which includes mobile operator EE, will see the new employees work in a variety of roles, ranging from customer service, vehicle maintenance and finance to cyber security and software development.

BT said it is committed to building a culture of tech literacy within the UK so that the country remains a digital leader. The latest recruitment of 1,700 apprentices and graduates across the UK builds on the employment of nearly 2,500 in the past two years.

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.”

Colin Bannon, chairman of BT’s West Midlands regional board, said: “This latest major recruitment is a further example of BT’s commitment to the West Midlands as one of the region’s leading employers and investors. “We are offering exciting, high quality careers in a fast moving industry in order to ensure the households and businesses of this region are able to benefit from the latest, first class communications.

"The new recruits will be joining a world-leading company, which has already invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the West Midlands in technologies such as superfast broadband and 4G.”