Version 1 Announce 50 New Jobs

A total of 50 new jobs are to be created by IT services company Version 1.

The investment at the firm's Belfast office will bring its total number of staff in the city to 76.

It is understood all the roles will be filled by the end of 2017.

Welcoming the announcement, First Minister Peter Robinson said: "I am delighted that Version 1 has decided to expand its operations in Northern Ireland and create a further 50 high value jobs with an average salary of £57,500 per annum.

"The average salaries of these new jobs will be more than three times the Northern Ireland private sector and are undoubtedly the type of high level jobs that will help us to rebuild and rebalance our economy.

"Version 1 is an award-winning IT company with an impressive record of growth and achievement. This investment reflects the company's confidence in Northern Ireland's ability to contribute to its future success."

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness added: "The total investment by Version 1 to this project is around £6.5million and when complete will deliver additional employment opportunities generating £2.8million in salaries over the next three years.

"Our cost-competitive business environment, talented IT graduates and excellent telecommunications infrastructure continues to drive down costs for global companies offering a competitive edge in a very dynamic sector."

Justin Keatinge, Managing Director of Version 1, commented: "The calibre of IT staff that we have been able to recruit in Belfast is excellent and, together with the support from Invest NI, made Belfast the obvious choice for this expansion.

"We intend to expand not only our core Oracle skills base in Northern Ireland but also other specialist Version 1 capabilities such as Microsoft and Amazon web services."

Invest Northern Ireland has offered £350,000 of support for the creation of the new jobs.

(JP/CD)