Eir apprentices
From left: Kieran Hicks, Darragh Burke, Mercy Addere, Shamila Cathcart, Una Stafford, Sofie Devlin, Sive Corrigan and Matthew Drury. Image: Maxwells Dublin

Eir to recruit 50 apprentices for rural broadband expansion

2 Mar 2017

Eir has announced it will recruit its latest batch of 50 apprentices from Leaving Cert level to help in its roll-out of broadband in rural areas.

With plans to have nearly 2m fibre customers by the end of 2018, Eir is in the midst of another hiring phase for the broadband roll-out across the country, particularly in rural Ireland.

Today (2 March), it announced plans to hire up to 50 new apprentices over the coming months, with the programme open to candidates who have passed their Leaving Cert.

With 120 of the previously hired apprentices still with the company two years on, the newest batch of graduates are expected to start learning their new trade from September of this year.

Applicants will work as customer service and assurance technicians, where the primary focus will be on the maintenance and repair of equipment.

Over the course of the two years, apprentices will get on-the-job learning, one-to-one coaching and formal classroom training.

Open until April

Successful applicants will also receive a Level 6 QQI qualification, with the expectation that the best apprentices will be offered full-time roles with Eir.

The company added that this recruitment programme will be open for applications until 8 April, and will work alongside its existing graduate hiring initiative.

Una Stafford, director of field operations at Eir, said: “We are undertaking the largest broadband roll-out programme across Europe, with a strategic investment plan that is unmatched in Ireland.

“It’s a real opportunity to get hands-on and work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, getting unparalleled experience and being part of something that will change communities around the country.”

With a target of expanding into rural areas, Eir’s CEO Richard Moat told Siliconrepublic.com earlier this month that its fibre roll-out programme was now well underway, with the intention of connecting a further 300,000 customers by the end of 2018.

Colm Gorey
By Colm Gorey

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic. He joined in January 2014 and covered AI, IoT, science and anything that will get us to Mars quicker. When not trying to get his hands on the latest gaming release, he can be found lost in a sea of Wikipedia articles on obscure historic battles and countries that don't exist any more, or watching classic Simpsons episodes far too many times to count.

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