Engineering graduates have been given a boost after British Gas announced it will be creating 2,600 new jobs to support the roll out of its new smart meter technology.

The jobs are in addition to 1,500 new green jobs the company announced earlier this year.

As part of the plans to install the meters it has opened a new Energy Academy in Leicester, which will train the engineers responsible for installing the new technology.

It comes after the Government announced in May that every house in Britain will be fitted with a gas and electricity smart meter by 2020.

British Gas is currently carrying out the biggest trial of the meters in the country with 50,000 homes and businesses already using the new technology.

The meters are expected to give households greater control over energy use by seeing exactly what they are using, as well as reducing the carbon footprint and saving money.

A total of 2,100 new engineers will join British Gas as part of the move to install the technology as well as 400 supporting team members and 130 managerial staff.

A total of 900 of the engineer roles will be filled with people who transfer to British Gas from other metering organisations.