A Greater Manchester broadband provider has announced plans to increase its workforce more than fivefold after a £25m investment.
Hale-based 4th Utility is to create up to 60 new roles in the region, with new roles being created in a range of areas including sales, IT and administration.
The announcement also comes just weeks after 4th Utility unveiled a new long-term partnership with DIF Capital Partners, which included a £25m investment package to support thousands more ultra-fast fibre broadband installations.
Tony Hughes, CEO at 4th Utility, which specialises in ultra-fast fibre broadband installations, said: "We're embarking on a really exciting period for 4th Utility and we're thrilled to be making up to 60 new roles available as part of our strategy for future growth.
"Morson Group is recognised as an industry leader when it comes to finding the very best talent, so we're pleased to be linking up with them at such an important time for our business.
"Increasing our market share and bringing commercial-grade fibre broadband to even more people is a strategic priority for us right now and in order to do that, we need a strong team of people behind us. With the support of Morson, I'm confident we will be well placed to drive the entire operation forward."
Recruitment giant Morson Group, headquartered in Salford, has been appointed to manage 4th Utility’s entire HR function during a three-year recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partnership.
The first phase includes the launch of a dedicated careers microsite, development of key hiring collateral, market intelligence information, as well as the roll out of Morson’s ‘Fit For Work’ app, which delivers the mechanics for enhanced health & safety.
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As well as domestic installations, 4th Utility works closely with residential and commercial landlords, property developers and housebuilders to deliver fibre infrastructure.
Jimmy Acton, chief technology officer at 4th Utility, added: "Our ability to support developers and builders with state-of-the-art FTTP infrastructure has been an important part of our success so far, but we know we need extra resources to really build on this at speed and scale.
"Confirming the partnership with DIF Capital Partners has already made this a landmark year for 4th Utility and it's fantastic to now be putting the wheels in motion on our expansion plans so soon afterwards."
Morson Group is anticipating hundreds of applications for the new roles, with a third of the positions expected to be filled before the end of 2020.
Ged Mason OBE, CEO at Morson Group, added: "It's clear that 4th Utility is on an upwards growth trajectory, and we're proud that they have chosen to appoint Morson as their recruitment partner and in doing so, unlock the benefits that such a collaborative partnership can offer.
"Our 50 years of experience in the talent landscape allows us to cut through the noise to ensure we reach, recruit and retain the best people by deploying a powerful strategy that will overcome present day challenges and utilises innovative techniques such as video interviews and unconscious bias.
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“Going beyond recruitment, we offer clients a full suite of talent services, from candidate attraction through to support with legislative changes, and in today’s unique climate, which sees talent pools at a size that we may never see again in a generation, it’s our mission to keep Britain working.
“To achieve this objective, we will be targeting workers with the right transferable skills and specifically those who have been hardest hit by the economic impact of Covid-19, to ensure 4th Utility has access to an agile pool of ambitious candidates.”
Property developers including The McGoff Group, Crest Nicholson, David Wilson Homes and Fortis Group are among those to have already agreed broadband partnerships with 4th Utility.
The company also has former British & Irish Lion, England and Sale Sharks winger Mark Cueto MBE leading business development as sales director.