A NUMBER of new apprenticeship has been created in the region including in Worcester by BT.

BT says it has created 26 new apprenticeships to drive young people with the skills and training needed to meet the challenges of a changing jobs market.

This year's BT apprentice and graduate recruitment, which includes mobile operator EE, will see the new employees work in a variety of roles, ranging from customer service, vehicle maintenance and finance to cyber security and software development.

Nationally 1,700 apprentices and graduates have been recruited, building on nearly 2,500 in the past two years.

Apprenticeships and skills minister, Robert Halfon, has welcomed the announcement.

“It is always good to talk about apprenticeships and the ladder of opportunity they give people to secure the career they want," he said.

“By committing to injecting 1,700 new graduate and apprentice jobs into the UK, BT is offering a real chance to be trained by some of the best in their field."

Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT, added: “Young people today need three basic skills – reading, writing, and tech know-how.

"BT is investing in the next generation, helping to train primary school teachers to teach computer science and recruiting large numbers of apprentices and graduates. This is the right thing for us to do if the UK is to remain a digital leader.

“It is an exciting time to join BT as it continues to invest in ultrafast broadband, 4G, television and sport.

"We are also preparing for future technologies, including 5G, and so we want to recruit the very best. Our apprenticeship and graduate roles will offer people the hands on experience they need to succeed.”

Colin Bannon, chairman of BT’s West Midlands regional board, said: “This latest major recruitment is a further example of BT’s commitment to the West Midlands as one of the region’s leading employers and investors.

"We are offering exciting, high quality careers in a fast moving industry in order to ensure the households and businesses of this region are able to benefit from the latest, first class communications. The new recruits will be joining a world-leading company, which has already invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the West Midlands in technologies such as superfast broadband and 4G."