BT creating 1,000 new jobs in regional office move

BT has announced the creation of 1,000 new jobs as its first major regional hub opens outside London.

The telecoms giant said it already had 225 roles available at the new 17-floor Birmingham offices at Three Snowhill in the city centre.

The new office will eventually host about 3,500 staff from across BT Group, including its digital network business Openreach.

Philip Jansen, BT Group chief executive, said the hub’s opening was “a statement” that the firm was “serious about the ‘levelling-up’ agenda” and said a number of senior staff were now based in Birmingham.

He added: “We are committed to creating more opportunities and basing key operations in other areas of the UK, too.”

Andy Street, the Conservative West Midlands mayor, said the jobs announcement and office opening were “fantastic” news.

He said: “Not only is it a huge sign of confidence in the West Midlands that a company of BT’s size and stature is investing in and committing to our region, but it is also brilliant news for people’s livelihoods with around 1,000 new jobs to be created.

“I look forward to working with BT to ensure these roles are filled by local people as part of my 100,000 jobs plan.”

The office is one of several new hubs the company is planning to open in the future, including others in Manchester and Bristol, together with a new London headquarters, which will cut the firm’s footprint from 300 locations to 30.

Under the company’s Better Workplace Programme, BT is hoping moves to new office buildings and the refurbishment of existing commercial space will increase productivity.

Elaine Bergin, BT director for colleague experience, who is based at Three Snowhill, said that shared workplaces were “central to BT’s future”, despite the shift to work-from-home as companies adapted to the Covid pandemic.

She said: “We recognise colleagues need the opportunity to work flexibly, and we can enable that through hybrid working.

“However, particularly for younger individuals and those joining BT for the first time, the opportunity to learn those soft skills and form positive relationships by working together in the office is invaluable.”

Three Snowhill boasts smart building technology, flexible workspaces and collaboration areas, as well as a cafe, which is open to the public, and a bike doctor, to encourage more staff cycle to work.

BT employs about 6,000 people directly and a further 600 contractors in the region and is responsible for generating about £1.5 billion for the West Midlands economy, according to the business consultancy Hatch.