SCOTLAND received a jobs boost today with mobile phone group O2 announcing the creation of up to 1500 jobs at a new call centre in Glasgow.
The new customer contact centre, which will form the hub of an £18 million investment over two years, is due to open in the autumn and will be based at the Skypark business complex at Finnieston.
Unions hope that news of the new posts, together w
ith other recent contact centre jobs for Scotland, will help put the brakes on outsourcing call centre jobs to India and reinforce Scotland’s reputation as a key location for European call centre operations.
Francesca Rea, general manager of customer service for O2 UK, said: "This is a major vote of confidence in our business and the UK market. This is now the most competitive mobile phone market in Europe. We believe we can differentiate and have more customers choosing O2 by investing in the people and resources to deliver an overall experience that customers will find superior."
Overall Glasgow has more than 100 separate call centres, with Scotland already employing around 56,000 people across the industry.
The creation of the new contact centre jobs follows on the heels of computer giant Dell’s announcement in February that it planned to create 850 call centre jobs at a new base in the east end of Glasgow.
And last week train operator First ScotRail vowed to open a new customer call centre in Scotland, creating up to 50 jobs, as part of its new franchise deal to run Scotland’s rail passenger services.
The Scottish Executive helped support O2’s new project with a £7m Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) package. O2 said the Skypark business complex was chosen following a review of several UK and Irish sites.
Deputy First Minister and outgoing Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace said O2’s decision to boost its presence in Scotland - it has 26 high street outlets and a technology office in Motherwell - was a "significant" endorsement of Scotland’s call centre skill base.
He said: "O2’s decision to locate here confirms yet again that Scotland is a first-class location to do business, with a reputation for offering a skilled and motivated workforce."
He added: "The fact that a globally recognised household name like O2 has chosen to expand in Scotland in the face of competition from other locations does credit to our reputation.
"This shows that Scotland remains an attractive option for growing an international business and can compete with the best in the world."
Unions said the move could send out a clear sign to other businesses that there is a case for keeping contact centre jobs in Britain.
Huge Scullion of Amicus said news of the potential jobs boost was "fantastic". "We will now push for other companies to commit themselves to these shores."
