Promising the train those left unemployed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the scheme is targeted at both skilled and unskilled workers, “service-leavers and unemployed” people.
CityFibre said it will identify and train “thousands of unemployed UK residents” as well as creating new job opportunities for “qualified and experienced construction and telecoms workers”.
It said it will also seek to attract more women and individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, and added “both are significantly under-represented in the construction industry”.
Th recruitment drive is part of a £4 billion investment from CityFibre that will see its infrastructure rolled out to more than 100 towns and cities.
Steve Holliday, chairman at CityFibre said: “We’re delighted to launch our training and recruitment programme creating up to 10,000 jobs in such a critical and vibrant sector. The programme will reach deep into our society to include some of those most in need of opportunity. Ultimately, it will ensure the skilled workforce is in place to get the job done and at the same time provide up-skilling and well-paid jobs across more than 100 towns and cities.
“In the wake of the Coronavirus, delivering the Government’s target of full fibre nationwide by 2025 could not be more important. Of all the infrastructure projects and industrial policies under consideration, full fibre will have the biggest impact in the shortest time, and for the least public money. It will help ensure that the UK not only recovers economically, but that it swiftly transitions to a greener, smarter and fairer economy in which to thrive.”
In July 2019, CityFibre embarked on the second phase of its Gigabit City programme to connect a further million UK homes and businesses to full fibre, bringing the total number of connected premises to two million across 26 towns and cities. And in March, CityFibre shareholders approved the acquisition of network builder FibreNation from Talk Talk Group.
The latest developments will assist the government’s plan to deploy ultra-fast broadband across the UK by 2025, mainly delivered via fibre to the home (FTTH). In March, building regulations were updated to put a legal requirement on developers to install gigabit-speed internet connections in all new build homes.
On the scheme, CityFibre said: “This critical initiative will underpin Britain’s long-term economic recovery from the Coronavirus crisis, helping to level-up the economy by enabling access to ultra-fast digital connectivity for all.”
However, the plans have come under review several times and as a result a cohort of independent operators with a mix of fibre and FWA technology have been meeting customer demand in locations where the official infrastructure scheme is yet to arrive.
In 2016 former digital minister Matt Hancock was quoted by the Financial Times in 2016 as warning BT he was “on the side of the challenger”, when it comes to completing the nation-wide project.
The full story on independent UK operators – as well as how Ireland is building a gigabit fibre network – features in the June/July edition of Capacity.
