BT is embarking on a major recruitment drive with plans to almost double its in-house digital, data and tech team to 6,300 people, with a focus on attracting staff from diverse backgrounds.
More than 1,000 new staff are to be hired in its Digital unit in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Belfast, Ipswich and London hubs by April 2024, across data, AI and machine learning, cloud, design, product management, software engineering, and agile delivery.
More than 1,800 roles will be based in India at the company’s hubs in Bengaluru and Gurugram.
BT Digital says it is continuing with its programme of upskilling and reskilling existing staff, including the development of an expansive learning resource, the BT Digital Campus, to ensure its existing talent can be at the “cutting edge” of digital technology.
In the UK, the company is working with organisations including Code First Girls and 10,000 Black Interns and insists it wants to attract a diverse range of talent.
BT Digital maintains that entry-level talent could make up as many as 400 of the planned UK headcount, focused on apprentices, graduates, women returners and others starting their careers in digital.
BT chief digital and innovation officer Harmeen Mehta said: “Digital was founded to accelerate BT’s transformation, innovation and return to growth. To succeed, we need to bring in and upskill the top digital talent, and our efforts will boost the tech communities in the UK and India along the way.
“Diversity is a key focus in our recruitment efforts as we need a broad set of temperaments, mindsets and abilities to drive through the cultural transformation that comes hand-in-hand with this talent drive.”
BT Digital director of HR Mark Murphy added: “We’re hard at work transforming the way BT engages with talent as we add to the type of people we want in the heart of this new business unit. New arrivals will be immediately contributing to the progressive, collaborative, transformative ‘Digital Way’ at the heart of how it works.”
Last month it was revealed that the BT and EE customer marketing account had been handed to Digitas UK without a pitch, with Saatchi & Saatchi picking up the BT Sport advertising brief.
Wunderman Thompson had handled the combined CRM account since 2017 following the merger of the two telecoms businesses the year before.
Saatchi & Saatchi has worked with BT and EE since in August 2019. BT and EE’s media has been handled by WPP’s Essence since 2017.
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