BT Group announced it has created more than 1,600 new apprenticeship and graduate jobs in the UK. At present, BT has 82,800 employees in UK.

The latest GSMA report said the mobile eco-system globally employed 14 million direct jobs and 17 million indirect jobs in 2018.

BT said it will be recruiting talent for divisions such as engineering, customer service, TV production, and cyber-security.

The new recruits will also support the company’s plans to extend 4G coverage and build the latest 5G networks around the UK. Capital expenditure of BT for the nine months was £2.81 billion including network Capex of £1.514 billion.

Over a fifth of this year’s recruits will be based at BT’s labs at Adastral Park, near Ipswich, in Suffolk. The research centre plays a leading role in the development of mobile technologies, artificial intelligence and ultrafast broadband.

Openreach recently announced the addition of 3,000 engineers to support its fibre broadband investment. BT and Openreach are currently delivering a range of apprenticeships to over 6,000 learners.

Many of the apprentices will achieve foundation and full degrees as part of their work at BT, while graduate recruits will also have the opportunity to secure fully funded qualifications. BT is delivering the scheme in partnership with colleges, training partners and universities. The strategy is to ensure offer the best education and hands-on experience and training to apprentices and graduates, Alison Wilcox, HR Director, BT Group said.

BT Group, which is one of the largest employers, said the new roles within EE and Plusnet are spread across a number of locations including London, Glasgow, Belfast, Warrington, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

BT reported revenue of £17.558 billion with Adjusted EBITDA of £5.553 billion driven by revenue growth in consumer business and restructuring related cost savings in the nine months of fiscal 2018-19.