BT Openreach to Recruit 112 New Telecoms Engineers for Scotland

BT plans to recruit another 500 or so broadband and phone engineers from across the United Kingdom this year and they’ve today confirmed that 112 of those will be focused in Scotland, including from areas around Orkney, Oban, Greenock, Galashiels and in the Highlands and Islands and North East.

Apparently all of the new engineers will be tasked with frontline roles, such as installing new lines, fixing faults and of course helping to roll-out high-speed “fibre broadband” (FTTC and FTTP) connectivity into local homes and businesses across the country.

It’s worth pointing out that BTOpenreach currently has a workforce of 2,800 in Scotland, most of which are engineers who look after some 2.3 million lines. Take note that today’s posts are in addition to the 90 apprenticeships announced by BT for Scotland in April 2015 and the 260 engineers recruited last year.

Fraser Rowberry, Openreach Scotland’s General Manager, said:

“Millions of Scots depend on our services and rely on us to keep them connected. Across the UK, we plan to recruit around 500 more frontline engineers this year, as well as apprentices and graduates. I’m delighted such a high proportion of this recruitment will be in Scotland.

Our engineers are passing another 5,000 Scottish premises a week with fibre broadband at the same time as completing 12,000 jobs a week to install new lines, repair faults and keep people and businesses connected. Customer service is a key focus for us.

We passed or bettered the minimum service standards set by Ofcom for the last year but of course we are determined to do even better. As demand for our services grows, from household fibre to high speed lines for the business community, our new recruits will be a welcome boost. They’ll also be in place ahead of any severe weather impact this winter.

They will help to keep Openreach at the forefront of connecting Scotland now and for the future, helping it to be a great place to live and do business.”

Openreach have said that they’re also “particularly keen to attract more women“, not least because they want to highlight their support for National Women in Engineering Day and to reflect the Scottish Government’s efforts towards encouraging greater female participation in ICT and digital technology roles.