BT seeking women and veterans to help fill roles

Telecoms group BT today said it was keen to attract more women and former military personnel as it kicked off a ­recruitment drive for 1,600 engineering posts.

Brendan Dick wants Scotland to benefit from superfast broadband. Picture: Stuart Cobley

About 160 of the jobs are to be created north of the Border. BT Scotland director Brendan Dick said: “Working with our partners in the public sector, we are determined to ensure that Scotland is in the best position possible to take full advantage of the superfast broadband revolution.”

As well as seeking to draw more women into its engineering ranks, BT hopes to fill some of the new roles through its civilian work attachment scheme, which aims to find skilled jobs for armed forces personnel.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the jobs push, at BT’s Openreach network arm, would help provide “financial security for families and deliver a world-class infrastructure for Britain”.

Today’s announcement came as new analysis from Bank of Scotland showed that demand for staff remained strong last month, but the number of people placed into permanent positions rose at the slowest pace in 11 months, amid an “acute lack” of available candidates. 
BoS chief economist Donald Macrae said starting salaries for permanent roles rose sharply in April because of the shortage of workers, although growth in hourly pay rates for temporary staff eased to a three-month low in April.