Employability and Training Minister Jamie Hepburn has welcomed the extension of BT’s apprenticeship programme in Alness during a visit to the communications giant’s contact centre in the town.
The company took on its first intake of modern apprentices last year at the Easter Ross site, which currently employs 180 people.
Mr Hepburn said: “Apprenticeships are life-changing opportunities – providing the chance not only to work and earn, but also to achieve an industry-recognised qualification to support future career ambitions. I am delighted to see BT extend their apprenticeship programme in Alness, providing new opportunities for local people.”
He added: “The Scottish Governments’ continuing commitment to grow, widen and enhance the Scottish apprenticeship family is providing more opportunities than ever before.
“Apprenticeships are an essential way for all employers in Scotland, regardless of size and sector to develop their workforce and contribute to business and economic growth.”
BT said it had “invested heavily” in the Highlands over the past two decades, with support from development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise. As well as its Alness facility, the firm has another contact centre in Thurso, employing 70 people.
BT Scotland’s head of policy and public affairs, Mark Dames, who accompanied Mr Hepburn on his visit, said: “BT’s Highland contact centre operations have proved a remarkable success story over many years, offering much-needed, well-paid jobs in the area.
“We were delighted to welcome Mr Hepburn to the centre so that he could see our Alness operation at first hand. We are in the very early stages of our apprentice journey here, with our first intake last year when we recruited three modern apprentices who are completing an advanced SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qaulification) in customer services over 18 months.”
Mr Dames added: “We’ve worked hard forging partnerships with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and are regularly consulted as part of their forward planning. We’ve also worked with UHI to develop foundation apprenticeships, with our first two local apprentices starting next month.
“We’ve also delivered significant investment in local schools and the university, sharing opportunities available across the broad spectrum of BT roles at career fairs, breakfast and lunchtime sessions.”
Staff at Alness work for BT Business and Public Sector for customers including Small and medium-sized enterprises, third sector organisations, government bodies and FTSE 350 firms.
