Virgin Media First in UK to Launch Part-Time Apprenticeship Scheme

Cable broadband and TV provider Virgin Media has this morning announced that they will become the first private company in the UK to launch a structured part-time apprenticeship scheme, which over the next two years will be supported by an investment of up to £4 million.

The operator has been running an apprenticeship programme for the past 10 years and over that period some 839 apprenticeships have been completed (196 are currently on the programme). As a result 464 of the total still work at Virgin Media and they’ve also increased female apprentice enrolments by 66% since 2016 (note: the number of apprenticeship enrolments doubled from 2016 to 2017).

Catherine Lynch, VM Chief People Officer, said:

“On the job learning works for everyone. Our flexible and diverse apprenticeships are helping jump-start careers across Virgin Media from aspiring field-technicians right through to finance gurus. There has never been a better time to join our team.”

Anne Milton MP, Minister for Apprenticeships & Skills, said:

“It’s fantastic to see firms like Virgin Media investing in new high-quality apprenticeships. This new part-time apprenticeship will make it even easier for people training on the job and will help develop the digital skills our economy urgently needs.”

Virgin Media hope that the new scheme will help to further address skills shortages, improve workplace diversity and attract a broad range of people into the telecommunications sector. They initially started out by offering a small range of field-based apprenticeships for field technicians, network planning and engineering based roles but have since expanded.

Existing or Planned Apprenticeship Levels/Roles

· Field Technician
· Network and Business Engineering
· Network and Business Planning
· Data Services
· Law
· People
· Learning and Development
· Procurement
· Finance
· Analytics

* A new part-time field technician apprenticeship is planned to start in May.

Further details about the new scheme can be found here and here.