BT Group to hire more than 600 apprentices and graduates

BT Group intends to recruit over 600 apprentices and graduates for its September intake this year. Successful recruits will work in fields such as cybersecurity, customer service, and software engineering, the telecoms giant announced on Friday. They will be based at BT's offices in major cities across the UK, including Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester and Sheffield. BT has taken on more than 3,000 apprentices and graduates over the past five years, making it the UK's largest private sector apprenticeship employer.

The company also launched a new Apprenticeship Fund last September to provide £4million of funding to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as charities and public sector organisations over four years. Since 2017, firms with an annual wage bill exceeding £3million have been mandated to pay a 0.5 per cent Apprenticeship Levy. Hiring: Telecoms giant BT Group intends to recruit over 600 apprentices and graduates for its September intake this year.

However, large businesses can decide to transfer up to half of their levy funds each year to other employers to assist with their apprenticeship training. Athalie Williams, chief human resources officer at BT, said: 'I'm incredibly proud of the opportunities we provide to develop new talent at BT Group and recognise the valuable contributions graduates and apprentices bring to the workforce.'. Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills, added: 'Apprenticeships are central to this Government's Plan for Change – they break down barriers to opportunity and equip people of all ages and backgrounds with the skills they need to go on to rewarding careers.

'They also drive growth by giving businesses the workforce they need in key sectors of the economy.'. BT's announcement comes about a week after the blue-chip company hailed record customer demand in its Openreach division. The firm attracted a further 472,000 consumers to its full-fibre network in the three months ending December, bringing the total number of connected premises to 6 million. However, its sales declined by 3 per cent to £5.2billion due to lower handset sales and difficult trading conditions outside the UK.

BT has been downsizing its international operations owing to years of cost issues and subdued profitability. Earlier this week, the business sold its Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit to telecoms provider Speed Fibre. BT Group shares were 0.3 per cent lower at 148.4p just after midday on Friday but have still risen by around 41 per cent over the last 12 months. Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.