Our people

The people at Sky are critical to our ability to meet the needs of customers and achieve our goals as a business. We aim to create a culture of opportunity that encourages talented people to join us and helps them to aim high and give their best. That means supporting their development and rewarding and recognising great performance.  

Talent development
Because we value the talent of all our 16,000 people, we have invested in making training and development accessible to everyone. Since September 2008, the Sky Development Studio has offered 24/7 online access to a wide range of learning resources for all our people, including courses, books, downloads and DVDs. There have been over 50,000 visits to the site since launch and around 10,000 e-learning courses have been downloaded so far. We’ve also created a range of management programmes designed for people at all levels of the business, for example, the Sky Leadership Certificate and Diploma, accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, help managers to develop their skills in areas such as team building and change management.

To bring new talent into our business, we offer graduate training schemes in areas such as Finance, Technology and Marketing. Competition for places is intense, with over 2,500 applications for the 82 places on our 2009 intake. In our customer contact centres, our award-winning modern apprentice scheme gives 16- and 17-year-olds a great opportunity to learn in an exciting business, while working towards a nationally recognised qualification in customer services. This year we’ve launched a similar scheme for field engineers.

Recognising success
We’re big believers in recognising the great work that our people do. As part of a comprehensive package, Sky people are properly rewarded with a pension plan, life cover and a healthcare scheme. To make sure they can enjoy the same experience as our customers, all our people get free Sky⁺, Sky Broadband and Sky Talk.  

To celebrate our 20th anniversary, all permanent employees received an award of 100 free shares to vest in 2012, giving them a stake in the future success of the business. In further recognition of the role that our people have played in the Sky story, we have launched long-service awards for employees who have been with us for more than 10 years. Around 2,000 people have benefited so far, and more will follow in years to come.  

Joining in
We encourage our people to join in and play an active part in our efforts to make a positive contribution to the communities in which we live and work. As part of our commitment to help create a healthy environment, we work with a variety of partners to provide volunteering opportunities for teams and individuals.  

Since 2006, our Broadcast Operations team has worked with local schools in Hounslow, near our campus in west London, to address environmental awareness in young people. As well as providing a fun and rewarding experience for our people, the partnership, known as Project Green Sky, has delivered real benefits to the community. Last year, it was awarded the Community Partner Award by Hounslow Education Business Partnership, which said, “The project makes a direct contribution to key aspects of schools’ agendas … Sky have been outstanding.”  

As well as managing our impact on the environment, we provide opportunities for our people to do the same. The EcoTeams programme run by our charity partner, Global Action Plan, encourages colleagues to get together to share tips and support each other to go green at work and at home. We also offer a range of incentives to help staff adopt a lowcarbon lifestyle, from tax-free bike loans to cash-back on hybrid cars. They can also earn credits for positive actions like cycling to work, which can then be redeemed for rewards.