Newcastle College has teamed up with CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform and Digital Telecoms Networking Academy (DTN Academy), one of only two approved training partners nationally, to create a training programme in the North East that will help fill hundreds of engineering roles expected to be created over the next few years.
The partnership will see Newcastle College offer a pre-employment training course, developing employability and work-ready skills for people who are currently out of work. Funding has been made available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) and the North Tyneside Combined Authority, enabling Newcastle College to help hundreds of local people develop the skills required to fill the roles that CityFibre expects to create in the coming years.
The initiative is specifically aimed at helping to upskill those new to the sector including those affected by long-term unemployment and those impacted by Covid-19 job losses, as well as ex-forces personnel and individuals wishing to change career. Trainees will learn the skills needed to build, provide or repair telecom services for commercial or residential customers, which are currently in short supply in the industry.
Specialist training provider DTN Academy will supply the bespoke fibre training, construction qualifications and specialist accreditations contractually required to work on CityFibre builds. Based at Newcastle College’s Rail and Civil Engineering Academy at Felling, Gateshead, dedicated space has been developed for the telecoms training that DTN Academy will deliver.
Nationwide, CityFibre is engaged in the Gigabit City Investment Programme, an up to £4bn investment to reach at least 8m homes by 2025. Last year CityFibre announced it expects the project will generate up to 10,000 jobs across the country, with many being created in the North East where it plans to lay full fibre in several locations.
Scott Bullock, Principal of Newcastle College, commented “Partnerships with employers and industry experts like CityFibre and DTN Academy are at the heart of everything we do at Newcastle College and are vital to helping us achieve our vision of developing the skills and talents of our learners to succeed and make a positive contribution to the North East.
“This initiative is a perfect example of collaboration to develop and provide training that is really tailored to the skills needs of industry within our region and provide more opportunities for those within our local communities to upskill or reskill and gain meaningful and sustainable employment - something that is particularly important to so many people at this moment.”
Julie Hobbins, Educational and Funding Lead at CityFibre, said: “We’re delighted to be able to directly support local communities – not only with better internet connectivity, but just as importantly with job opportunities that can give people a fresh start in a new career – infrastructure development is a growth sector that offers long term career prospects, and by bringing new talent into our build partner network, we are supporting local businesses with their resourcing needs as well.”
Roy Fraser, Business and Quality Director at DTN Academy added: “We are delighted to continue to grow our strategic partnership with CityFibre and are excited to be opening a new facility with Newcastle College, this gives us a delivery footprint serving Newcastle, Gateshead and the surrounding areas that will complement our existing academies at Stockton and Peterlee, giving us full coverage within the North East. Our specialist training will offer graduates routes into the industry via CityFibre, their build partners and other employers in the fibre and telco industry."
Course Information
Start Date: Monday 23 August
Times: Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm
Location: Newcastle College Rail and Civil Engineering Academy, Felling
Cost: Free
Who is it for: Anyone who is interested in working in cable networking supporting the introduction of 5G to the region.
If you're interested in being part of the first cohort, simply email kevinlewis@dtnacademy.com to register your interest.