UK telco VMO2 is looking to take on more people in paid apprenticeship roles with five new schemes covering digital marketing, cyber security, quantity surveying, network cabling and DevOps.

VMO2 will boost its current roster of 40 apprenticeship schemes with five more focussed on digital marketing, cyber security, quantity surveying, network cabling and DevOps. This is on top of existing availabilities in network design engineering, network implementation, fibre engineering and network cable delivery throughout the UK.

All roles are offered on a permanent contract with a starting salary of at least £19,000 and apparently each apprentice received training and support worth between £6,000 to £27,000 throughout their programme. It’s currently looking to fill around 70 positions, and the firm says it has taken on 480 apprentices since June 2021.

“We’re on a mission to upgrade the UK, and are recruiting talented people to make this happen,” said Karen Handley, Head of Future Careers at Virgin Media O2. “With thousands of people finishing school or college and receiving their A-Level results, there has never been a better time to join us as an apprentice where you can earn whilst you learn. Whether it’s cyber security or network engineering, digital marketing or planning, at Virgin Media O2 we’re constantly expanding our array of apprenticeship programmes to help our people develop the skills they need for the future.”

Apprenticeships used to be more of a thing in the UK than they are now, and if they’re made attractive and widespread enough its entirely possible they could make a comeback as firms look to boost their workforce of coders and developers, for example.

The firm released some stats alongside the announcement based on some of its own research – apparently 57% of 11-18 year olds are considering an apprenticeship as they look for opportunities to earn whilst learning and experience working life sooner, while 31% said they would struggle with money at university, and 28% believe that rising costs mean they no longer see university as such a good idea.

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