MORE than 220 trainee engineers will be hired across Scotland as part of a huge recruitment drive announced today by Openreach.
The new roles, in locations throughout Scotland, will see trainees join the UK’s largest team of telecoms experts working to expand, upgrade, maintain and install services over Openreach’s national broadband network.
The total includes 48 posts for the Glasgow city region, 38 for Edinburgh and the Lothians and 34 for Aberdeen city and shire as well as posts in areas such as Dumfries and Galloway, Stirling and Ayrshire.
More than 3,000 trainee engineers are being recruited across the UK, Around half will be helping to deliver the company’s Fibre First programme, bringing faster, more reliable Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology to millions of households.
Alongside the latest recruitment drive, Openreach is also announcing it will be building new FTTP networks in the Greater Glasgow area during 2019. This brings the total number of towns, cities and boroughs at the forefront of the FTTP build to 25, with the company on track to deliver its commitment of reaching three million homes and businesses with ‘full fibre’ broadband by the end of 2020.
Clive Selley, Openreach chief executive, said: “Openreach is ambitious for the UK and is determined to build full fibre as quickly as possible to ensure the country has a reliable broadband network capable of supporting future data-hungry services and applications essential for boosting productivity and sustaining our position as a leading digital economy.
“We’re making great progress towards reaching our target of upgrading three million homes and businesses to full fibre by the end of 2020 – reaching another 13k premises per week – and these new recruits in Scotland will play a crucial role in that programme. Openreach is a people business and our new apprentices will enable us to fulfil our commitments, with an ultimate ambition to deliver the best possible connectivity to everyone, everywhere, equally, across the entire country.”
Business and work minister Jamie Hepburn said: “The Scottish Government is committed to improving the country’s digital infrastructure, encouraging inward investment and employment opportunities to inclusive growth so we welcome this long term investment in the Scottish workforce by Openreach and the capital investment being undertaken at its Livingston training facility.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here