BT Group is to recruit 70 apprentices and graduates across the North West for its September 2024 intake, with roles available in Manchester, Warrington and Accrington.
The company will recruit talent across areas including software engineering, customer service, applied research, data analytics and cyber security to support the UK’s fast-growing digital sectors.
Of the roles announced 31 will be recruited in Manchester, including 16 graduate posts and 15 apprenticeships. A further 26 apprenticeships will be available in neighbouring Warrington, while 13 will be based in Accrington.
The new Manchester roles will be based at BT Group’s state-of-the-art new office currently under development at Four New Bailey, close to Spinningfields.
The new building is set to open later this year and forms part of BT Group’s Better Workplace Programme – which the firm claims is the largest workplace improvement programme and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK.
BT Group is one of the UK’s largest private sector apprenticeship employers and has recruited more than 3,000 apprentices and graduates over the past five years. The company offers apprenticeships ranging from level two, the equivalent to GCSE standard, through to level seven, a Master’s degree.
In 2023, it was ranked second in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the UK and as part of its Manifesto for Responsible, Inclusive, and Sustainable Growth, and the company has pledged to build a more diverse talent pool.
The hiring spree follows last year’s gloomy announcement that BT was to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030, more than 40% of its global employee base, with about 10,000 jobs replaced by artificial intelligence.
BT employs about 130,000 staff globally, with approximately 30,000 of those contractors through third parties and around 80,000 staff in the UK.
Elaine Bergin, director of colleague experience, BT Group, said: “As one of the largest private sector employers of apprentices and graduates in the UK, we continue to recruit and attract brilliant people into our business and we offer unparalleled opportunities to those who join us.
“As we build a better BT Group, we’re developing a pipeline of future talent to help grow our business, deliver great outcomes for our customers and to help underpin economic growth in the UK.”
The North West recruitment drive is part of a wider national scheme that will see the group add a total of 557 roles, comprising 111 graduates and 446 apprentices.
