Eircom to create 375 graduate and apprenticeship roles

Eircom is to create 375 jobs over the next five years as part of the biggest large scale recruitment programme the company has had in almost 30 years.

The telecoms group announced a new €18 million apprenticeship and graduate programme on Wednesday that will see it taking on 75 people a year.

This initiative builds on the success of a pilot apprentice programme that ran in 2011. Of the 75 apprentices who entered that programme, 55 remain in full-time positions with the company.

The group’s apprenticeship programme, which is open to candidates who have passed their Leaving Certificate, will see 60 apprentices per year recruited over the next five years. This year’s programme, which will provide on-the-job learning, one-to-one coaching and formal classroom training, will commence in September and run for two years.

Eircom said successful applicants will have the opportunity to work as customer service and assurance technicians on the maintenance and repair of equipment in its network. Successful applicants will also receive a Level 6 FETAC Telecommunications Access Networks Technology Major Award and top performers will be offered full-time roles with the company.

The company’s new graduate programme will recruit 15 honours graduates with finance qualifications per year who will be divided into Eircom’s general graduate programme and its specialised finance graduate programme.

"We are the only company in the telecommunications sector investing in people at scale, providing excellent sustainable employment. This is a key element in the ongoing transformation of the group, and one we feel passionately about. These programmes are an integral part of our growth strategy," said Eircom's chief executive Richard Moat.