ORDNANCE Survey has created 271 jobs in a year, increasing its workforce by 25 per cent.

Among the jobs created at the Southampton mapping agency in the year to April 2021 was its first head of mobile gaming.

The government-owned business said it had generated a “vast” range of roles, from graduates with astrophysics degrees creating machine learning algorithms to cyber security specialists.

The past year saw Ordnance Survey (OS), headquartered at Nursling, begin the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement, a deal with government created to help every part of the public sector.

Leigh-Sara Timberlake, chief executive of the group Business South, said: “As a major employer in the south, OS has been truly inspirational during the pandemic.

“While they could have chosen to apply the brake once the pandemic took hold, they have instead persevered, adapted their processes and been happy to share their experiences with other employers in the region.”

OS said its data and expertise was helping invigorate thousands of businesses, including utility and insurance companies and deliverers. Its experts are helping governments overseas plan with new methods of mapping.

The agency was founded 230 years ago this month, based at the Tower of London.

Hazel Hendley, OS’s people director, said: “We have ambitious plans to our commercial business and hiring new talent, skills and capabilities which will enhance the expertise and critical skills we need to deliver our strategy.

“With new ways of working born out of the pandemic, we have recruited not just in the local area to our Southampton-based headquarters, but further afield, which supports the government’s levelling up agenda.

“Over the next three years, we will continue to invest in core technology, data, and learning and development to better serve our customers for the long term, while creating a more sustainable way of working for both existing and new employees.”

OS data has been used by the NHS for its vaccination programme and has supported more than 300 customers in their response to Covid-19 – including the telecoms industry, which needed faster and more reliable broadband as people switched to home working.

Lockdowns saw an 80 per cent growth in OS Maps subscribers.

Its head of gaming will be responsible for launching the agency’s first geo-location game early next year.