12/12/2016

£8m Govt Contract To Provide 170 Jobs

An £8million government contract will provide 170 jobs in Northern Ireland.

The deal, secured by the Department for Communities from the Department for Work and Pensions, will deliver services to claimants in Great Britain.

The contract will provide 170 jobs and will be delivered from offices in Ballymena and L'Derry.

The Ballymena office will get 150 of the jobs and the remaining 20 posts will go to the Lisahally Service Centre.

While a number of the posts will be filled through internal NICS redeployment, it is expected a total of 150 posts will be filled through external recruitment and recruitment agencies.

Communities Minister Paul Givan said: "This new contract is the second to be secured by my department this year on behalf of DWP and underscores their confidence in the quality skills and service our staff in Northern Ireland consistently deliver. Providing services to Great Britain on behalf of DWP is now a core part of my department’s business. I am confident the new contract will provide excellent opportunities at the sites in Ballymena and Londonderry."

The contract is for an initial two year period at £4million per annum. The average salary will be in excess of £19,000 for the 170 posts which will be mainly administrative grades. The posts will assist in the delivery of Universal Credit and the Benefit Cap across Great Britain on behalf of DWP, and are expected to be fully operational by the autumn 2017.

(CD)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

04 August 2010
DART Tunnelling 'To Employ Thousands'
As many as 7,000 jobs are expected to follow news that four major international consortia have entered the pre-qualification phase in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement process for Irish Rail's DART Underground, (Dubin Area Rapid Transport).
28 May 2013
Cookstown Company Secures Brazil Contract
A Cookstown company that specialises in waste reduction and recycling equipment has secured a major contract in Brazil. CDEnviro in County Tyrone secured its first major contract in the country following a trade mission organised by Invest Northern Ireland.
03 December 2003
Shorts employees return to work
Over 4,000 employees at Belfast aerospace company, Shorts returned to work today after strike action over pay and conditions was called off. Union representatives from the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) followed on a decision reached yesterday by Amicus to call off their industrial action which began last week.
17 July 2006
Citizens Advice to provide debt guidance
Citizens Advice in Northern Ireland has been awarded a debt advice contract by the government. Minister Maria Eagle said: "Debt in Northern Ireland is having an adverse economic, social and personal impact on the lives of many people here. This new debt advice contract will help clients to regain control of their financial affairs.
30 September 2014
300 Temporary PSNI Posts To Go
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said 300 temporary agency posts are to close at the end of the year. In a statement, the PSNI said they had informed recruitment agency Grafton that they would not be extending their contract.