Sarah Watkins

route2work launches talent acquisition programme with Kelly Group to address UK engineering skills shortage


The route2work Group has today announced the launch of a programme to attract and hire talent in partnership with Kelly Group; an innovative recruitment initiative aimed at addressing the UK’s engineering skills shortage across the telecommunications sector as the industry embarks on the considerable challenge of connecting the UK to Full Fibre and fulfilling the Government’s ambition of a Gigabit Britain by 2025. The initiative will provide Kelly Group with a diverse pipeline of aspiring Engineers to support them in meeting their scaled requirements.  

The programme will target new pools of ‘undiscovered’ talent by leveraging route2work’s inclusive digital assessment capability, which identifies hidden strengths, desired behaviours and transferrable skills in individuals who might have otherwise faced barriers-to-entry via traditional, CV-led recruitment methods.

This approach is proven to result in an entirely diversified talent pipeline with individuals identified from across the experience spectrum, who are then introduced by route2work into Kelly Group’s recruitment process for interview, the opportunity to join their esteemed training programme, and deployment into roles that support major telecommunications service providers nationwide.

Commenting on the launch, Chris Peel, CEO of route2work Group, said: “We are passionate about connecting people to opportunity and we are determined to positively disrupt traditional recruitment practices, whilst also breaking down the barriers people face into aspirational careers. Working with Kelly Group presents the opportunity to do both at scale, addressing a significant skills shortage across a sector that’s in need of quantity, but also crucially, quality talent.”

Simon Buckhardt, CEO of Kelly Group, added: “The UK has a significant challenge ahead of it as it seeks to play catch-up with the rest of the developed world and create a Gigabit Britain by 2025. The roll out and build of Full Fibre to UK homes will create tens of thousands of new jobs. Kelly Group is constantly looking to find innovative ways to meet this recruitment challenge and are therefore excited to be partnering with route2work and their inclusive, digital first recruitment platform”

The programme for Kelly Group began in May 2021, with route2work having secured channel and community partners in order to access and engage the right ‘undiscovered’ talent in the market, for example, The Royal Marines Charity for ex-military personnel, and Making The Leap, a charity that seeks to improve social mobility for disadvantaged young people.

Editors notes/more info:



About route2work Group:
Under its brands The Training Room and InfinityGlobal.io, the route2work Group [est. 2016] continues to leverage world-class educational technology to disrupt the employment sector for consumers and businesses alike. Its scalable digital talent solutions uncover pools of ‘undiscovered’ talent with incredible potential, empower them through in-demand skills development, and connect them with career opportunities at partner organisations in order to tackle skills gaps and fulfil their organisational talent requirements.

About Kelly Group:
Established in 1985 to support the emerging UK cable television market, Kelly Group is renowned for building networks in collaboration with several major leading telecommunication service providers, delivering innovative multi-functional solutions - connecting people globally.    

Working across several industries including telecommunications, rail, metro, highways and fleet, Kelly Group operate nationally with 40+ operational centres and deliver a full suite of services.

As a service provider, our workforce is our extended family, which is why we invest in their safety, training, careers, welfare, vehicles and tools they need to deliver excellence. With a workforce of circa 3500, 4 training hubs and a fleet of over 2500 vehicles, Kelly Group are committed to developing an excellent team, a fair culture and a safe working environment.

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For further information, please contact:
Sig Watkins, sig@fitmg.co.uk  07595 984476