BT Set to Create 600 New UK Apprenticeship and Graduate Jobs
Broadband and telecoms giant BT has announced that they intend to recruit over 600 apprentices and graduates this year (up from 428 last year), which forms part of their September 2022 intake. This will reflect roles spanning areas such as engineering (5G and FTTP etc.), UK customer service, research and cyber-security.
The new roles are to be spread across a number of locations including Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Dundee, Glasgow, Ipswich, London and Manchester, among others. BT is quick to note that they’re one of the UK’s largest private sector apprenticeship employers and have recruited more than 2,000 apprentices and graduates over the past 3 years, although this does tend to gloss over job losses in other areas.
Alongside its apprenticeship and graduate scheme opportunities, BT is also investing in several initiatives to support young jobseekers. These include the Work Ready training scheme and FastFutures, which they say have already helped “thousands of young people to kickstart their careers.”
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Debbie White, BT’s Chief Human Resources Officer, said:
“BT is at the heart of the UK’s digital economy and as one of the largest employers of graduates and apprentices in the UK, we offer unparalleled development opportunities.
Despite the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve continued to recruit and attract brilliant people into our business. The combination of our hybrid working approach and our state-of-the-art offices makes BT a great place for new joiners to learn new skills and capabilities, collaborate with colleagues and bring innovative thinking to drive growth across our business and deliver for all of our customers. It’s a very exciting time to join BT.”
BT added that it wants to build a bigger, more diverse talent pool, and for the company’s workforce to have a 50% gender split, with 25% from an ethnic minority group, and 17% with a disability by 2030. We should point out that this is across BT’s entire group, including BT Consumer, EE, Plusnet and other divisions.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Aww it was all sounding like a good thing until the equality of outcome BS at the end.
Provide equal opportunity and an inclusive workplace, explore the reasons why any group are statistically under represented and address the root reasons why, after that then don’t go down the rabbit hole.
Who’s says they aren’t doing that to achieve the outcomes?
Probably because a 1 legged, non-binary, vegan dwarf will be given a job over a more suitable, skilled candidate just because HR will get to check off the “inclusive” tick box exercise?
Not very PC of me, but that’s 2022 for you in a nutshell.
The primary reason of course being that businesses don’t employ enough people from under-represented groups. The solution is to employ more. It’s not hard.
But it is hard when you have targets set to meet and a director of inclusivity onboard, so you end up employing someone to hit the target rather than someone more suited to delivering the role and get a pat on the back for “being inclusive” instead of hiring the correct person.
Hiring the right person for the job is more important than following a tick box exercise to give the optics that the company is inclusive, it should be doing the right thing.
“Hiring the right person for the job is more important than following a tick box exercise to give the optics that the company is inclusive”
Typically defensive comment. I’d wager you’re a white man.
Here’s a thought for you…
What about if hiring the right person AND being inclusive could happen simultaneously?
Imagine that for a second. I know it’s probably hard.
Given companies haven’t been inclusive or diverse historically (that’s a fact) are you really saying they shouldn’t challenge themselves to be? Are you saying they’ve always hired the right people without exception?
“What about if hiring the right person AND being inclusive could happen simultaneously?”
Nah, can’t imagine such a scenario.
@Alex I didn’t say they’re not addressing potential barriers, but that still doesn’t mean you’re going to achieve numbers based on population stats.
@125us, IF they’re equal or better for the position then sure hire them, ability and suitability aren’t based on your minority status.
@Alex, sure it can happen IF the people applying and interviewing are equally suitable AND evenly spread across the spectrum of people in the country.
And no I’m not saying there’s not history or even current issues regarding prejudice or opportunity, But equality of opportunity and a non discriminatory employment policy/environment don’t in any way guarantee you percentages within a specific field that match statistical diversity.
Many companies are involved in resolving the gender/race/choice reasons why their staff diversity doesn’t correlate to the national stats, But equality of opportunity and an inclusive workplace environment still doesn’t result in stat matching.
There’s so much more to the why, than 50% of people are female so we should have 50% of our employees be women etc across all the other groups.
Ok GaryH and Buggerlugz – cheers for your white mansplaining.
Alex, you started off so well…
Mansplaining OMFG shut the hell up.. Dismissive and what the hell does the fact that I’m white have to do with anything? not that you know that you presumed.
Obviously you’re not able to debate an issue without resorting to BS. I’m out.
Wasn’t it BT that said they want a 25% minority workforce? They show their Marxism at every chance but have no qualms in hiking prices
They first have to learn how to make good broadband infrastructure. All they use is ancient technology from medieval times. While other poor countries already give gigabit download and upload speeds for many years. I wouldn’t trust bt in my life. All they do is charge money and give you ancient broadband.
Oh, broadband is more important than equality now?
Really
what utter twaddle (or are you just taking about where you live)
Yes broadband is far more important than equality. Especially when “equality” has become such a toxic workplace trope.
“Yes broadband is far more important than equality. ”
No, no it’s not. In what world is a consumer product more important than human rights? Absolute insanity.
Don’t use them, then.
Justina is Max’s sister.
Please more and more apprentices that directly replace the experienced colleagues that you just made redundant due to the engineered “better workplace program” to be able to displace the expensive employees you don’t want. Tell me I need to pick up the slack and do more work now these people are gone, oh and whilst you’re at it please train these new apprentices up as well.