We're building inclusive connections, digital skills and a diverse BT Group

Helping you make the most of life

The future is here­, and it’s digital. But not everyone is getting the benefits that tech can offer. Around 2.6 million people in the UK remain almost completely offline and nearly 11 million lack basic digital skills.

To unlock the transformative power of technology, it needs to be available and accessible to everyone. But it’s skills and training that help people make the most of tech.

BT Group's digital skills programme is free and designed to help people across the UK – from older and vulnerable to jobseekers to help boost their confidence and understanding of digital tools and technology to make daily life better and realise their long-term ambitions.

Building on our Digital Skills resources and partnerships, we've reached a total of 14.7m people with digital skills support since 2014/15. And we're aiming to help 25 million by 2026. 

Creating an inclusive digital world

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people reached with help to improve digital skills since 2014/15.

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small businesses and their employees upskilled through our digital skills programmes

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homes and businesses reached with full fibre.

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We’ve set bold ambitions to build a diverse and inclusive BT Group.

Championing digital inclusion

We’re working towards an inclusive digital future for the UK by making our networks and tech available, affordable and accessible to everyone. ​

Making our products affordable and accessible

Better broadband connections can open opportunities in education, employment and social inclusion – and transform access to healthcare and vital local services. Nearly three quarters (74%) of British adults say they would struggle to improve their financial situation or job prospects without a home connection.​

Our Customer Inclusion Panel, which includes experts from Age UK, Mind and RNIB, helps us make our products and services as accessible as possible for vulnerable customers or those with additional needs. ​

This year, we launched our Here for You campaign to make sure any customers who need extra help know where to find it (see box). We’re also providing extra training to our customer service colleagues to help them identify those who require assistance and keep them connected.​

Investing in our networks

We aim to reach 25 million premises by 2026, which includes our commitment to build to 6.2 million homes and businesses in hard-to-reach rural communities so they can benefit from our next generation network.​

We’ve extended 5G coverage to half the UK population, and we’ve committed to reach 90% of the country by 2028.

Here For You

More than one in five British adults say unexpected life changes during the pandemic mean they now need additional support. Fewer than half are comfortable sharing their problems with others – and would be unlikely to tell their mobile or broadband provider they may need help. But four in ten said they would feel more comfortable asking for help from their supplier if they knew that specific support was in place.  

 

Our Here for You website brings together BT’s wide range of products, services and support for those who need extra help in one easy-to-navigate place. It includes information about the newly launched Home Essentials social tariff, the latest accessibility options and priority services for customers with long-term illnesses or disabilities, and advice for dealing with scams. 

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Visit our Here for You website

Helping jobseekers get into digital workforce

We’re helping jobseekers develop the skills they need to succeed in a digital economy. We reached over 33,000 people through our Work Ready virtual training sessions this year and ran a summer jobseekers campaign on how to gain confidence when applying for jobs. 

Through BT Group Accelerate Digital FastFutures, we partnered with Avado to offer a 12-week digital business skills and mentoring programme that empowers 18 to 24-year-olds from diverse backgrounds. BT Group colleagues have mentored over 1,000 of the 2,800 young jobseekers who have completed the programme since it began in 2020. We’ll also support 80 young people through Bootcamps designed to build advanced digital, data and AI skills without the need for a STEM degree. 

BT Group Accelerate Digital FastFutures is one of the programmes supporting our digital talent movement.

Partnering with charities on digital skills

This year, colleagues voted for Home-Start UK as our new UK charity partner. Together, we’re working to tackle the digital divide affecting the UK’s most vulnerable people by helping families improve their digital skills.​

In India, our partnership with the British Asian Trust has helped bring skills and education to over 738,000 young people across the country, and in doing so, we’ve exceeded our target of enabling 100,000 adolescent girls to stay in school and develop greater resilience and employability skills.

Together, we’ve worked with more than 1.5m community stakeholders to reduce socio-cultural barriers for adolescent girls. We’ve also reached over 35m people in India with key messages on gender equality, employability and other issues through programmes that provide skills training videos on TV and online. ​

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young people across India helped with skills and education

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users of the Digital Learning Passport in over 20 countries