Its commitment includes supporting Wolverhampton residents into jobs and work experience, as well as upskilling its workforce and its supply chain to help nurture new talent while developing the first full fibre network in the city.
CityFibre is bringing £50 million of private investment to the city that will enable every home and business to benefit from access to a full fibre broadband network.
Once constructed, Wolverhampton will be one of the best digitally-connected areas in the country.
CityFibre is now one of more than 600 businesses that have pledged their support to the Wolves at Work programme, which has helped almost 5,500 local people into work since it was established as a partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions in 2017.
The network it is delivering will provide lightning-fast digital connections to everyone and everything – from the family at home and children at school, to the workplace - and even traffic lights and CCTV cameras.
It’s pledge builds on CityFibre’s recent national announcement of a three-year recruitment and training programme providing up to 10,000 people with jobs as part of up to £4billion being spent on rolling out full fibre infrastructure to over 100 towns and cities.
This supports the Council’s ambitions to futureproof the city’s digital infrastructure by enabling the rollout of next generation technology as outlined in Wolverhampton’s Digital Infrastructure Strategy.
City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, Cllr Ian Brookfield, said: “This is a challenging time for our families and businesses. The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of having a strong and effective digital infrastructure to support us to stay safe, keep businesses going and, most importantly, save lives.
“CityFibre is rolling out this digital technology across our city to help bolster our economic recovery and future growth and we are delighted they have joined the Wolves at Work pledge to help our local residents into jobs get access to vital jobs and training.
“In Wolves at Work we are fortunate to have an excellent and well-established model of what collaborative working can achieve when it comes to getting people into and keeping them in work, as well as supporting businesses with skills development.
“The Wolves at Work partnership with CityFibre is now needed more than ever to help drive our recovery from this current crisis and reconnect people to job opportunities.”
Bashir Ahmed, CityFibre’s City Manager for Wolverhampton, added: “We are delighted to sign the Wolves at Work pledge as we commit to prioritising nurturing local talent. The digital infrastructure world is becoming increasingly critical in today’s society as we rely upon digital connections more and more. I am confident that there will be many young people who will thrive on the opportunities greater connectivity will create. Wolverhampton’s digital future is a bright one and I am looking forward to construction of our network beginning, unlocking unlimited possibilities for both business and residents.”
City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, added: “The Wolves at Work team have forged a strong relationship with CityFibre, which will reap great rewards for city residents and their families.
“These are uncertain times for people and it is critical that they get the right advice and support.
“The Wolves at Work programme enables us to better connect residents to opportunities like the ones on offer with CityFibre.”
To find out more about CityFibre’s Gigabit City vision for Wolverhampton visit CityFibre.
For support to access employment opportunities through Wolves at Work, please email wolvesatwork@wolverhampton.gov.uk or call 01902 554400.
