BT
BT to create more than 1,000 jobs in the UK. Photo: BT

Telecom company BT Group will create more than 1,000 engineering jobs as part of its fibre broadband expansion.

The new recruits will augment the 1,500 engineers and 2,000 former armed forces staff hired in recent years. Based at BT's Openreach unit, the new jobs include 400 apprenticeships on a training scheme and 200 posts reserved for retired armed forces personnel.

The new intake will initially spend a year at BT's Openreach business, installing lines in homes. Later, they will learn the full range of engineering tasks, along with completing maths, English and technology courses to receive diplomas.

With an investment of £2.5bn ($3.8bn, €2.9bn), BT's fibre rollout project will employ more than 6,000 people, and the network is expected to cover two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014. It has already passed more than 13 million premises in the UK.

BT is investing to create a fibre network providing fast broadband services across the country, a project part funded by the government through the £530m Broadband Delivery UK rural process, for which the company has so far won all the contracts from local authorities. The company expects to add 100,000 homes and businesses per week to its network.

The scheme, which is the "most ambitious project ever undertaken" by the company, involves using undersea cables to bring superfast broadband to the Scilly Isles. The new fibre network will replace the radio link from the mainland that had been used by the 2,200 residents of the Isles.

"We remain highly confident that fibre can be provided to more than 90 percent of U.K. homes and businesses, making the UK a global digital leader," said BT chief executive Ian Livingston.

"Providing much faster broadband speeds, and enabling millions more homes and businesses to enjoy these speeds is vital for driving investment and equipping the UK to compete and thrive in the global race," said Prime Minister David Cameron, welcoming the new jobs from BT.