BT Group’s multi-million pound waterfront development welcomes around 1,000 colleagues
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, officially opened BT Group’s office in Dundee, which marks the end of the project which has seen the company invest millions in a brand new, long-term office in the city.
The First Minister was welcomed at the new office by Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, as they both met teams based at the site. Home to around 1,000 colleagues from across BT’s Consumer and Business divisions, the flagship 24/7 site houses teams who help customers right across the UK.
The new building, first announced by the company in July 2020, forms part of Dundee’s £1bn regeneration area, and is located at West Marketgait, in the heart of the city centre, close to the waterfront.
The building joins Glasgow as one of BT Group’s strategic locations in Scotland, developed as part of its Better Workplace Programme – the largest workplace improvement and consolidation scheme of its type ever undertaken in the UK. In September 2023, the group also completed its multi-million pound refurbishment of its Glasgow office, situated on the Clydeside, where around 2,000 people are based.
The First Minister met with BT teams who are helping businesses to upgrade their connectivity and digitise their operations, colleagues who handle operator assistance and directory enquiry calls, and ‘guides’ who take orders for BT’s consumer fibre broadband and mobile services.
The First Minister also heard about the company’s apprenticeship programme, with a new local cohort due to start in March. The company is also recruiting for full-time roles in its sales teams in Dundee, working in partnership with local schools and Discover Work Dundee, who offer assistance to those seeing employment.
First Minister John Swinney said: “The opening of this new office is an important moment in Dundee’s remarkable economic transformation, reflecting Scotland’s commitment to digital innovation, growth, and opportunity. BT’s decision to invest in Dundee is a powerful statement of confidence in the city and Scotland. It secures around 1,000 local jobs, providing good opportunities for apprentices and workers to develop their skills and drive forward their careers.
“The Scottish Government’s approach is clear. We are actively creating the conditions for businesses to invest, grow and succeed. Through initiatives like the Tay Cities Region Deal – investing £150 million, over ten years – we’re supporting innovation, skills development, and economic growth, all of which come together in this new office development.”
Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, BT Group, said: “As one of the largest private sector employers in Scotland I’m excited to see our Dundee office open for business. Our investment in this state-of-the-art office will help us to retain and attract the best people as we transform BT to give better service to our customers, while supporting the broader regeneration of Dundee.
“We’re also continuing to make major investments in Scotland’s networks, with more than half of Scotland now able to get full fibre from Openreach, and three quarters of the population covered by 5G from EE. We’re working closely with our partners in government to ensure we maximise the potential for these networks to create new possibilities for the public and private sectors, and support the economic success of the nation.”
In May 2022, Kate Forbes, Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy at that time, visited the site to mark the start of construction work on the project. The investment in the new Dundee office will help to transform the way BT Group works, create efficiencies and enable it to better serve its customers in Scotland and across the UK. The company’s former office in Dundee, which opened in 1976 on Ward Road, closed last year.
BT Group employs more than 7,000 colleagues across Scotland, ensuring homes, businesses, government and the NHS are connected to broadband and mobile services, from the smallest communities and islands to the nation’s towns and cities.
The company plays an important role in the Scottish economy and is responsible for generating £1 in every £130 produced in the country, according to an independent report. It also generated £1.3 billion to the economy of Scotland in “Gross Value Added” (GVA), during the 2023/24 financial year.* In total, BT Group supports more than 11,700 jobs across the nation.
Marking the opening of the new office, attendees were treated to a beautiful performance by young musicians from Big Noise Douglas, a music education and social change programme delivered by the charity Sistema Scotland. Launched in the Douglas area of Dundee in 2017, it currently works with around 600 members, ranging from babies to S3 pupils, helping youngsters to develop confidence, teamwork, resilience, pride and aspiration as well as the capacity to work hard, supporting them to reach their full potential.
Case Studies of local employees who have worked with BT since the 1980s:
Donna Johnstone and Helen Crossan, both operator services call handlers at BT in Dundee, have heard it all in their career.
In 1984, while Stevie Wonder topped the charts singing ‘I just called to say I love you’ and the iconic red phone box had starred in Local Hero, Donna picked up her first call at BT’s Dundee exchange. Four years later, in 1988, Helen joined her at the switchboard, marking the beginning of a partnership that would span four decades of Britain’s telecommunications history.
Between them, they’ve connected millions of calls – from urgent emergencies to late-night revellers seeking taxis, from excited Valentine’s Day flower orders to the dark days of grief and loss.
Donna Johnstone explains: “When I started in 1984, we took calls to the Operator on old, corded switchboards. It was quite noisy – pulling the cords down, untangling answering cords from calling cords. It was like spaghetti junction! You had to be careful with the brass circuits – if you missed, it would spark!”
Helen Crossan continues: “We started with paper books in directory enquiries – huge heavy phone directories which you’d lift onto your desk. By the end of a shift our hands would be black with ink from the print. Then came microfiche, and then gigantic computers. But despite all the changes in technology, we’re still doing the same job – looking for numbers to connect.
“Nighttime was often the most interesting time to be working. I became very fluent in every dialect of drunk!”
In their time with BT, both Helen and Donna have fielded their fair share of prank calls, but also some which stick in the mind for very different reasons.
Helen Crossan recalls: “I remember my first emergency call. The red button flashing, and a buzzer would go. I was sitting, staring and my trainer saying: ‘You’re going to have to answer one eventually.’
“Dunblane… it was scary, you know. You would see the news coming through on the television. We had to be mindful that your colleague might have taken a difficult call. If anyone needs to talk…you talk.”
