A new BBC design and engineering hub set to be opened in Glasgow will see an additional £4 million in investment and the recruitment of an over 60 employees in tech and design-led roles.

The BBC says the new facility will play a ‘critical role’ in delivering the public broadcasters ambition to reinvent itself for a new era. The hub will consist of more than 110 people, including the existing BBC Design and Engineering team from Pacific Quay.

This comes after the BBC recently announced an annual investment of £40 million, for the creation of a new dedicated Scottish television channel – given Ofcom approval on June 26th – and new content for the channel.

BBC Scotland Digital Hub

The new roles created by the opening of this facility will focus on key three areas, including:

• Voice platforms – focusing on how the BBC develops its services on interactive devices and a smart speaker products such as Amazon Echo.
• BBC Platform – the goal is to create a common digital platform on which the BBC can run its apps, websites and online experiences.
• Education – Building on the success of BBC Bitesize, the broadcaster aims to further boost its Bitesize services and deliver its education mission.

Matthew Postgate, BBC Chief Technology & Product Officer says that this announcement signals a growing confidence in Scotland’s creative and tech talent and will allow the broadcaster to capitalise on a vibrant pool of expertise.

He said: “We know there is a huge amount of technological and creative talent in Scotland. We are looking forward to creating a digital hub in the heart of this thriving community, will which use that talent and expertise to transform the BBC, not only in Scotland – but throughout the UK.”

Investing in Scotland

The BBC is investing heavily in Scotland, having recently announced the single largest investment programme for over 20 years. This process is expected to create more than 80 new jobs in news content-production alone for its new television channel, as well as another 22 local democracy jobs to increase local authority coverage.

This new television channel – due to be launched in February 2019 – will bring over 900 additional hours of programming every year for Scottish audiences and will include a new hour-long news broadcast every evening at 9pm.

The creation of new tech-based roles added to news and local democracy appointments will see the corporation create over 160 new jobs.

In addition to job growth, BBC Scotland is also helping to develop student skills, with around 450 students attending a variety of courses every year at the new Scottish National Film and Television School hub – located at the Pacific Quay headquarters.

BBC Scotland Director, Donalda MacKinnon, says the ongoing investment in Scotland is a sign of the corporations commitment in the country and will allow it to further develop Scotland’s reputation as a media hub.

She said: “Bringing another 60 highly-trained technology roles to Scotland, on top of the 50-plus we already have, is a sign of the BBC’s commitment to spreading our investment across the UK.

“These new roles, added to the 80-plus jobs being created in news and the new channel, will build on Scotland’s growing reputation as a media centre of real clout.”