BT says it is keen to hire staff in Poole following the announce-ment that is to create 200 engineering jobs in the South West.

A major recruitment drive across the UK will see the company looking for 1,600 engineers nationally to help deliver its fibre broadband service.

Poole and Weymouth have been highlighted as areas where it is “particularly keen” to hire.

The new engineers will help BT’s Openreach service improve customer service by installing new lines and fixing faults more quickly. Openreach is available to more than 1.5million homes and businesses in the South West.

BT has also promised to publish regular reports on its customer service performance on its website.

The company says it expects a significant number of its new posts to be filled by ex-service personnel.

It is especially keen to recruit more women and has launched a campaign encouraging women to enter engineering.

The company’s recruitment drive has been backed by David Cameron, who said: “Supporting business, creating jobs and providing a better future for hardworking people is a crucial part of our long-term economic plan.

“So I am delighted that BT is launching this major recruit-ment drive for 1,600 engineers across the UK, providing financial security for families and delivering a world-class infrastructure for Britain.”

Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West regional director, said: “BT is leading the economic recovery of the South West as one of the region’s largest investors.

“Not only are we building a superfast broadband network, which is giving a major boost to the region’s households and businesses, we are creating highly-skilled local jobs offering exciting careers “Working with our partners in the public sector, we are determined to ensure that the South West is in the best position possible to take full advantage of the superfast broadband rev-olution.”

Joe Garner, chief executive of Openreach, said: “We want to attract the best in the country to a career in engineering. “We are also keen to recruit women – as I’m keen to dispel the myth that being an engineer is an exclusively male vocation.

“In fact we have many success-ful women engineers and it is my personal belief that recruiting more will also help our customer service agenda.”