Have you got the head for heights needed to train as an engineer at Openreach in Peterborough?

A hugely anticipated feature of the training at the Openreach centre, in Saville Road, Westwood, is its ‘pole field’ fitted out with an array of nine metre high telephone poles.

A school spokesperson said: “One of the most daunting weeks for the new engineers is learning how to climb telephone poles - a key part of the job when it comes to providing new services to customers and fixing faults.

“Typically nine metres high, they may not look much from the ground, but offer a different perspective from the top.”

It is estimated engineers have climbed the equivalent of 10 times up Mount Everest over the year.

New recruit Nicole Taylor said: “It was a really enjoyable eight weeks and I was able to learn so much. I was very comfortable climbing the poles for the first time, but I can see why some people might be apprehensive. Before joining Openreach, I was a lift engineer, so it was quite a change for me and the training has set me up well for the future.”

The centre, which was created from a 1970s office and workshop unit with a £1 million investment, is usually where engineers learn how to take fibre connections all the way from the telephone exchange, through underground and overground ducts and poles, into a customer’s home or business.

During the coronavirus crisis, all learning is being carried out remotely.

But Openreach engineers are classified as key workers and they continue to operate across the East of England, focusing on essential services such as GP surgeries, pharmacies, emergency services, retail and wholesale food distribution outlets, public services, vulnerable customers and those without any service.

Kasam Hussain, Openreach’s regional director, said: “The training centre is a huge asset to Openreach and to Peterborough.

“It helps our engineers become part of the country’s largest team of telecoms experts working to expand, upgrade, maintain and install services over our national broadband network.

“Training engineers is just one part of a huge amount of work taking place in Cambridgeshire.

“We’ve been working closely with the county council to roll out superfast broadband, playing a key role in covering 97 per cent of homes and businesses.

“And just last year, we announced – at a launch at the training school - that we’re going even further with more than 5,000 homes and businesses set to benefit from ultrafast, ultra reliable Full Fibre broadband technology.

“It was also revealed in January that Openreach’s own commercial rollout is bringing full fibre to Ely, Glinton and Helpston.”

Another feature of the school is its ‘Open Street’, which is a mock residential road.

Engineers can experience a typical working day - from cabling to jointing and repairs, working underground or overhead,climbing telephone poles and installing new services inside customers’ homes.