Tuesday 17 April 2012
Openreach signs up 150 permanent fibre broadband engineers
Openreach is creating 150 permanent full-time engineering jobs to boost the workforce delivering superfast broadband. This will bring the number of full-time engineers currently devoted to the project to more than 3,000.
All the recruits will start their new jobs in May and will be part of a mobile engineering workforce that can be deployed anywhere in the UK to help install superfast broadband to homes and businesses.
Openreach chief executive Liv Garfield said: “We’re really pleased with the progress we are making in delivering our fibre deployment.
“Through system and process enhancements, we’re delighted to be delivering fibre even faster. We can only do this if we have the right number and calibre of engineers on the ground.
“It is also fantastic to be able to offer permanent jobs to people in the current economic climate.”
This latest recruitment drive follows the employment last year of around 500 ex-armed forces personnel to help deliver BT Group’s £2.5bn fibre programme.
Our deployment of fibre broadband is one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, with the technology being delivered at much faster speed than in other countries.
Our fibre footprint
- Well in excess of seven million premises can now access fibre broadband
- the figure will rise to 10 million this year, and to around two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014
- we believe it could be possible to make fibre broadband available to more than 90% of UK premises, subject to appropriate allocation of funding
- we can do this by working with local councils and devolved authorities
- we’re bidding for Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds to make this happen