BT Group outlined plans to hire more than 2,800 people for its Digital unit in home market UK and India by 2024, as it continues a major push around transformation and innovation across its business.

In a statement, the operator explained the hiring drive would increase its Digital workforce from 3,500 people as of April to 6,300, the majority of which will be brought on by the same month in 2024.

BT plans to hire a total of 1,000 new UK-based staff across its hubs in major cities including London and Manchester, while 1,800 additions will be located in India around Bengaluru and Gurugram.

Of the 2,800 new hires, up to 400 will be graduates, apprentices, women returning to the workplace and others starting a career in digital.

The roles will span a number of fields including product management, software engineering, cloud design, data, AI and machine learning, and agile delivery.

BT added its full year 2023 financial outlook remains unchanged as the incremental costs associated with the hiring plans were offset by a reduction in its reliance on subcontractors.

The operator has pushed a digital transformation effort for some time, most recently signing a five year partnership with Google Cloud, as it targets a cloud and AI-first strategy.

Harmeen Mehta, chief digital and innovation officer at BT, said its Digital unit was founded to accelerate the company’s return to growth.

“To succeed, we need to bring in and upskill the top digital talent, and our efforts will boost the tech communities in the UK and India along the way,” he added.