Amidst global economic recession, Indian call centre major Firstsource has sparked early Christmas cheer in Northern Ireland by announcing plans to create 160 more jobs in the region.
"We started operations here two years ago in October 2006. We now have over 600 staff in Derry and today's announcement of 160 jobs will bring it up to around 800. The staff have done a phenomenal job over the last two years with the customer and we have a very positive relationship with the customer," said Shaun Harnett Firstsource manager.
Firstsource is among a growing number of Indian companies who have chosen Northern Ireland as a base in Europe. They include HCL, Polaris, PixTransmission and Tech Mahindra.
The expansion is due to the strong relationship the company has built up with one of its principal clients, Sky. It has met targets with Sky and the new jobs are to meet new demand, according to company sources in Belfast.
What's working for us in this relationship is the ability to hit targets every month for the last two years. I do think there is a significant difference here. The people are very friendly and are committed to the job, Harnett added.
"This is a testament to the hard working team already here. We've had a lot of people coming to us and what we are looking for are people with an ability to talk - something the people in Derry are good at," he said.
The Indian Business Process Outsourcing company set up office in the region in 2006 and employs 550 people in Belfast. The new 160 jobs are to be created at its office in Londonderry, where its current staff strength is 600.
Firstsourse has 34 call centres worldwide and employs more than 17,000 people across four continents. It specialises in providing outsourced services including contact centre, back-office processing and debt-collection services.
From its offices in Northern Ireland, the company provides help for a range of customers across the financial services, telecom and media, travel and healthcare industries in Europe, Asia and North and South America.
In May, Firstsource received 6.7 million pounds grant aid from Invest Northern Ireland, a regional economic development agency.
