BT expands Hull operations to support KCOM
A BT WHOLESALE operations centre is being located in Hull to help provide network capabilities for companies including KCOM.
The network management and operations site will be based at the Willerby Hill Business Park, and has already to the appointment of five apprentices from the area.
The firm said it was planning on a recruitment drive to create further jobs over the coming months.
BT Wholesale provides services to around 1,400 communications companies across the UK, and the firm said it had considered a number of potential UK sites for the new centre.
Kevin Murphy, managing director of BT Wholesale customer service said the firm had chosen Hull because of the skills and expertise of the local BT workforce, where it employs 85 people in East Riding, out of a total of 157 in Yorkshire and the Humber.
He said: “We have a longstanding relationship with KCOM having provided services and support for their network for the past six years.
“The time was right to establish a dedicated centre to continue supporting KCOM’s business needs and also the needs of some of our other customers. Not only was this an opportunity to expand and enhance the services we already provide to KCOM but also to potentially grow our business.
“Our Hull workforce already had such an exceptionally high level of knowledge and a wide-ranging skill base that it made absolute sense to take advantage of it. Willerby Hill enabled us to bring together our workforce in one location, recruit new people and provide staff and customers alike with fantastic state-of-the-art facilities.”
Sean Royce, managing director of technology, service and operations at KCOM Group, said: “BT Wholesale’s investment in its Willerby Hill offices is great news, not just for us as a customer but for the East Riding more generally, as it will lead to more high-quality employment opportunities for local people.
“Over the past three years our KC brand has taken on more than 20 apprentices who are pursuing careers in communications technology. The expansion of BT Wholesale’s activities in the region will give more of the region’s young people a chance to take their first steps in this increasingly attractive industry.”
BT Wholesale reported an order of intake of £1.9bn, but revenues were hit by a large contract termination.
