Openreach to create more than 100 new Welsh jobs alongside electric vehicle upgrade

• 2,500 new roles at Openreach and an estimated 2,800 with partners, supporting £12bn broadband project
• Commitment to upgrade the UK’s second largest commercial fleet to electric vehicles by 2030

Openreach today bucked the prevailing economic trend by creating at least 108 new Welsh-based engineering jobs to be filled during 2021, alongside more roles in its supply chain.

The new roles, in places like Denbighshire, Ceredigion, Monmouthshire and Vale of Glamorgan will enable the company to continue improving service levels across its existing networks, while building and connecting customers to its new, ultrafast, ultra-reliable ‘Full Fibre’ broadband network at a record pace.

These roles are in addition to an on-going recruitment drive for desk-based apprenticeships in Cardiff.

Across the UK, 5,300 jobs are being created, including more than 2,500 full-time jobs in Openreach’s own service and network build divisions, as well as an estimated 2,800 positions in its UK supply chain, through partners such as MJ Quinn who have both been awarded contracts to support Openreach’s full fibre build in Wales.

The UK’s largest digital infrastructure firm has separately made a commitment to upgrade all 27,000 Openreach vehicles[i] - the second largest commercial fleet in the UK - to electric by 2030. This will include around 1500 vans across Wales.

The announcement comes as the firm hit a record build rate for its Full Fibre broadband programme – which aims to reach 20 million homes and businesses by the mid-to-late 2020s - on the assumption we obtain the required critical enablers. Openreach engineers are now delivering faster, more reliable connectivity to another 40,000 homes and businesses every week, or the equivalent of a home every 15 seconds.

Full fibre build is already underway across Wales, including Cardiff, Swansea, Barry and around 100 harder to reach locations throughout the country.

Updated research, also published today, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) suggests that a nationwide Full Fibre broadband network would boost UK productivity by £59 billion by 2025 and enable nearly one million more people to access employment including over 300,000 carers, nearly 250,000 older workers and 400,000 parents.

The pandemic has accelerated changes in working patterns and, with full fibre, nearly two million more people than previously estimated could also choose to work from home in the long term, reducing transport and housing pressures in big cities and boosting local and rural economies across the country.

Connie Dixon, Openreach’s partnership director for Wales, said: “As a major employer and infrastructure builder, we believe Openreach can play a leading role in helping Wales to build back better and greener. Our Full Fibre network build is going faster than ever and we’re now looking for people across the country to build a career with Openreach and help us upgrade broadband connections and continue improving service levels. We’re also investing in our supply chain, which will support the creation of thousands more jobs all over the UK.

“We know the network we’re building can deliver a host of green benefits – from consuming less power to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips – and we’re going to take that a step further, by committing to build and maintain that network using state of the art electric vehicles across our 27,000-strong fleet. We’ll have completely transitioned to EVs by 2030.”

Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters said: “This has been a challenging and difficult year for many and the importance of good reliable connectivity has been highlighted more than ever as more people work from home, and keep in touch with friends and family they may not be able to see. I’m pleased to see this announcement by Openreach with the creation of job opportunities across Wales and further improvements in the broadband network.”

More than 3.5 million premises can now order a gigabit capable Full Fibre broadband service from a range of competing service providers using Openreach’s new network, and the company is on track to reach its target of upgrading 20 million homes and businesses by the mid-to-late 2020s – assuming the right investment conditions exist.

Openreach already employs more than 34,500 people, including more than 25,000 engineers who build, maintain and connect customers to its nationwide broadband network. Of these, more than 2,500 live and/or work in Wales.

Over the last two years, Openreach has created more than 6,500 trainee engineering roles to support its build programme and to deliver improved customers service.

The new trainee apprenticeship roles will be filled during 2021 and come with a starting salary of £21,845 and recruits can be earning up to £28,353 following 12 months of specialist training to achieve an NVQ level 2, in one of Openreach’s world class training centres.

This year, Openreach placed 15th in The Sunday Times ’25 Best Big Companies To Work For’.

To find out more about becoming an Openreach engineer please visit our website at

www.openreach.co.uk/te

[i] Not including specialist vehicles and equipment (e.g. hoists/cherry-pickers, ditch witches etc)

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Openreach i greu dros 100 swydd newydd yng Nghymru a throsi i gerbydau trydan

• 2,500 swydd newydd yn Openreach ac oddeutu 2,800 gyda phartneriaid, wrth gefnogi project band eang gwerth £12bn
• Ymrwymiad i drosi fflyd fasnachol ail fwyaf y DU i gerbydau trydan erbyn 2030

Heddiw llwyddodd Openreach i wrthdroi’r drefn economaidd bresennol wrth greu o leiaf 108 o swyddi peirianneg newydd yng Nghymru i’w llenwi yn ystod 2021, ynghyd â rhagor o swyddi yn ei gadwyni cyflenwi.

Bydd y rolau newydd mewn ardaloedd fel sir Ddinbych, Ceredigion, sir Fynwy a Bro Morgannwg yn galluogi’r cwmni i barhau i wella lefelau gwasanaeth ar draws ei rwydweithiau presennol, tra bydd yn adeiladu a chysylltu cwsmeriaid i’r rhwydwaith band eang ffeibr cyflawn tra chyflym newydd.

Mae'r swyddi yma yn ychwanegol at ymgyrch recriwtio barhaus ar gyfer prentisiaethau desg yng Nghaerdydd.

Ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig, bydd yn creu 5,300 swydd yn cynnwys dros 2,500 swydd llawn amser yn adrannau gwasanaeth ac adeiladu rhwydwaith Openreach, ynghyd ag oddeutu 2,800 swydd o fewn ei gadwyni cyflenwi yn y Deyrnas Unedig, drwy bartneriaid fel MJ Quinn sydd wedi ennill contractau i gefnogi gwaith adeiladu rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn Openreach yng Nghymru.

Mewn datblygiad arall, mae cwmni seilwaith digidol mwyaf y Deyrnas Unedig wedi ymrwymo i drosi ei fflyd o 27,000 cerbyd[i] - fflyd fasnachol ail fwyaf y Deyrnas Unedig - i drydan erbyn 2030.

Daw’r cyhoeddiad wrth i’r cwmni gofnodi record newydd am ei waith adeiladu ar ei raglen band eang ffeibr cyflawn - gyda’r nod o gyrraedd 20 miliwn cartref a busnes erbyn canol i ddiwedd y 2020au - o gael yr amodau buddsoddi critigol i’w alluogi i wneud hynny. Erbyn hyn mae peirianwyr Openreach yn darparu cysylltiadau cyflymach a mwy dibynadwy ar gyfer 40,000 cartref a busnes bob wythnos, sy’n cyfateb i un cartref bob 15 eiliad.

Mae gwaith i ymestyn y rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn eisoes ar y gweill yng Nghymru, yn cynnwys ardaloedd Caerdydd, Abertawe, y Barri ac oddeutu 100 ardal anodd eu cyrraedd ar draws y wlad.

Mae ymchwil diweddar a gyhoeddwyd heddiw gan Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) yn awgrymu byddai rhwydwaith band eang ffeibr cyflawn yn cynyddu cynhyrchiant y Deyrnas Unedig gymaint â £59 biliwn erbyn 2025 ac yn galluogi bron 1 miliwn (c.950,000) mwy o bobl i gael gwaith, yn cynnwys 300,000 gofalwr, bron 250,000 o weithwyr hŷn a 400,000 o rieni.

Yn dilyn y pandemig, gyda ffeibr cyflawn yn awr gallai bron 2 miliwn ychwanegol - na ragwelwyd yn y gorffennol - ddewis gweithio gartref, gan ostwng y pwysau ar adnoddau trafnidiaeth a thai mewn dinasoedd mawr a hybu economïau lleol a gwledig ar draws y wlad.

Dywedodd Connie Dixon, cyfarwyddwr partneriaeth Cymru Openreach: “Fel cyflogwr ac adeiladwr seilwaith blaenllaw, credwn bydd Openreach yn gallu chwarae rôl flaenllaw mewn helpu’r Deyrnas Unedig i greu dyfodol gwyrdd gwell. Mae ein rhaglen i adeiladu rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn yn mynd yn gyflym iawn ac yn awr rydym yn chwilio am filoedd o bobl ychwanegol i ddatblygu gyrfa gydag Openreach a’n helpu i uwchraddio cysylltiadau band eang a pharhau i wella lefelau gwasanaeth. Byddwn hefyd yn buddsoddi yn ein cadwyni cyflenwi, fydd yn helpu i greu miloedd o swyddi ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig.

“Mae’n glir bydd ein rhwydwaith newydd yn darparu llwyth o fuddion gwyrdd - o ddefnyddio llai o bŵer i alluogi mwy o bobl i weithio gartref a gostwng teithiau cymudo - a mynd gam ymhellach wrth ymrwymo i adeiladu a chynnal y rhwydwaith wrth ddefnyddio’r cerbydau trydan diweddaraf ar draws ein fflyd o 27,000. Byddwn wedi trosi’n llwyr i gerbydau trydan erbyn 2030.”

Dywedodd Lee Waters, Dirprwy Weinidog yr Economi a Thrafnidiaeth Llywodraeth Cymru: "Mae hon wedi bod yn flwyddyn heriol ac anodd i lawer ac mae pwysigrwydd cysylltedd dibynadwy da wedi cael ei amlygu'n fwy nag erioed wrth i fwy o bobl weithio o adref, a chadw mewn cysylltiad â ffrindiau a theulu nad ydynt efallai'n gallu eu gweld. Rwy'n falch o weld y cyhoeddiad hwn gan Openreach sydd yn creu cyfleoedd gwaith ledled Cymru a gwelliannau pellach yn y rhwydwaith band eang."

Erbyn hyn mae dros 3.5 miliwn cartref a busnes yn gallu archebu gwasanaeth ffeibr cyflawn hyd at un gigabeit gan amryw gwmnïau gwasanaeth yn defnyddio rhwydwaith newydd Openreach, gyda’r cwmni yn dilyn ei amserlen i uwchraddio 20 miliwn cartref a busnes erbyn canol i ddiwedd y 2020au - o gael yr amodau buddsoddi angenrheidiol.

Mae Openreach eisoes yn cyflogi dros 34,500, yn cynnwys 25,000 peiriannydd sy’n adeiladu, cynnal a chysylltu cwsmeriaid i’w rwydwaith band eang cenedlaethol. O’r rheiny, mae dros 2,500 yn byw a/neu gweithio yng Nghymru.

Dros y ddwy flynedd ddiwethaf, creodd Openreach dros 6,500 o swyddi hyfforddai peirianneg er mwyn cefnogi ei raglen adeiladu a gwella gwasanaethau ar gyfer cwsmeriaid.

Bydd y cwmni’n llenwi’r rolau prentisiaeth yn ystod 2021, gan ddechrau ar gyflog o £21,845 ac ennill hyd at £28,353 yn dilyn 12 mis o hyfforddiant arbenigol er cyrraedd NVQ lefel 2, yn un o ganolfannau hyfforddi Openreach ar draws y wlad.

Eleni roedd Openreach yn 15fed ar restr 25 cwmni mawr gorau i weithio iddynt The Sunday Times.

Manylion pellach am ddod yn beiriannydd Openreach ar ein gwefan www.openreach.co.uk/te

DIWEDD

[i] Not including specialist vehicles and equipment (e.g. hoists/cherry-pickers, ditch witches etc)