CityFibre’s recruitment drive aims to add up to 10,000 new jobs

Three-year programme to target both skilled workers and unemployed

CityFibre has announced a three-year recruitment and training programme to give jobs to up to 10,000 people.

The drive will target both experienced construction and telecoms workers, and unemployed UK residents who will be given training.

Recruitment campaigns will begin later this month. Where possible, jobs will go to individuals from the towns or cities where CityFibre’s rollouts are taking place, to help boost their local economies.

The infrastructure provider will also target those unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will seek people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, which it claims are an underrepresented group in construction.

CityFibre chairman Steve Holliday said: “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,” added Holliday. “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.”

Phil Sorsky, senior vice president at provider CommScope called the jobs programme “encouraging” given the limited timeframe for the UK government’s full fibre rollout plans.

Earlier this year, CityFibre’s £200 million acquisition of FibreNation led to it increasing its fibre-to-the-premises rollout target from five million premises to eight million by 2025.