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Rural UK ISP Wildanet, which is building a gigabit speed full fibre broadband (FTTP) network across rural parts of Cornwall and Devon in England, has today celebrated the graduation of their first cohort of five apprentices (telecommunication engineers etc.) from their new training academy.
The Wildanet Technical Training Academy was first setup in 2023 and is naturally intended to support the operator’s own full fibre deployments. An initial group of five apprentices took part in the company’s brand-new Telecoms Field Operative Level 2 apprenticeship programme, developed in partnership with Truro and Penwith College, with others studying for a range of management, logistics and finance-based courses.
The success of the first cohort is said to be “just the beginning for Wildanet’s Academy“, which has already had an “overwhelming response” to future programmes, including 76 new applicants eager to secure a place on its next engineering apprenticeship. But the news does follow shortly after the provider revealed (here) that its restructuring was expected to result in a loss of up to 35 jobs (roughly 18% of the workforce).
The company is also now looking at how it can extend its training offer, supporting not only its own workforce but also the wider supply chain and local communities as it follows through on its commitment to support digital inclusion and the skills needed for Cornwall’s workforce of the future.
Family and friends were invited to join apprentices for the gathering hosted by Wildanet CEO, Helen Wylde-Archibald, as well as Chief People Officer, Julie-anne Sunderland, Academy Head, Ian Carmichael and guest of honour, Anna Gelderd, the MP for South East Cornwall.
Wildanet’s Chief People Officer, Julie-anne Sunderland, said:
“Today is the culmination of what started out as a dream and became an incredible journey thanks to the support of the company, the hard work of everyone who made the Academy a reality and the dedication of the apprentices themselves. Seeing our first apprentices graduate, with many passing with distinctions and even being recognised for awards, is recognition of their hard work, the quality of training at our Academy and the success of the apprenticeship programme.
It has been fantastic to see individuals come into our business and embrace and learn and immediately start to add value. Watching this blend of knowledge, ages and backgrounds come together has really inspired us to keep doing this into the future. We are not only upskilling our workforce but also supporting Cornwall’s wider economic growth.”
The operator was last year estimated to have so far covered around 30,000 premises (Ready for Service) with their newest Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, which stems from a mix of both commercial and publicly funded builds. In terms of the latter, Wildanet has secured several contracts since 2023 – worth £77m (state aid) – to deploy their fibre to over 37,000 premises across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly under the UK government’s Project Gigabit scheme (here and here)