A new £1.7m Greater Manchester facility will train the next generation of Openreach digital engineers.
The new fibre training centre was officially launched last week by Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Angela Rayner MP.
Trainees will test their skills in a state-of-the-art 770 square metre replica street, built from scratch to recreate the real network in the outside world.
Nicknamed ‘Open Street’, the school will enable engineers to experience a typical working day - from laying cables to building joints and making repairs, working underground or overhead, climbing telephone poles and installing new services inside customers’ homes.
Around 2,500 new and existing Openreach engineers from across the North of England, as well as further afield, are expected to train at the centre this year alone.
Across the north west, Openreach employs around 3,500 people to build and maintain its phone and broadband network.
Since April 2018, the company has hired more than 180 new trainee engineers across Greater Manchester alone and the recruitment is ongoing.
These new engineers will be key to delivering the company’s ‘Fibre First’ programme, which is bringing faster Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband technology to millions of front doors across the 海角视频.
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Angela Rayner, MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, said: “This fantastic training facility is going to play a major part in training and educating a new generation of engineers, of all ages and from all walks of life.
“The value of being able to learn in a live environment which replicates the real-life scenarios trainees will encounter cannot be underestimated.
“These trainees will be able to approach their early working days with confidence and get off to a flying start.”
Catherine Colloms, Openreach’s managing director of Corporate Affairs, said: “Our network underpins the economy the length and breadth of Greater Manchester, bringing a vital service to communities in both urban and rural areas.
“We’re proud of our track record but recognise there is still more to do.
“We’re investing now for the future so that we have the local, skilled and experienced workforce needed to deliver a full fibre future for Greater Manchester and keep communities connected, with better service, broader coverage and faster broadband speeds for all.”
Openreach engineers attending the training centre will receive comprehensive training – from picking up a job and setting up their working area safely to splicing together hair-breadth fibres or installing or repairing a line.