Investment In NI Jobs Pays Off

A total of 140 new jobs are on the way for NI as two quite diverse companies - one in Belfast and one in Londonderry - go on a recruitment drive.

Home furnishings company Dunelm Mill is to create around 80 jobs when it opens a 38,000 sq foot outlet on the Buncrana Road in Derry, while telecoms company Magdalene is to create 50 jobs at a development centre in south Belfast.

It has recently established a telecoms services and engineering support centre in Belfast at the Gasworks site, creating 34 new high value jobs.

A network operations centre, creating a further 18 positions will be set up later this year.

Invest NI has offered £394,000 of support towards the high tech investments, which they said will deliver more than £1.4million annually in salaries by 2011.

Of this, £50,000 will be part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, (ERDF) in support of skills development and business improvement activities.

Magdalene Ltd is an independent telecoms service provider that supplies solutions and services for private and public operators including, fixed and mobile operators, airports, highway agencies, police and major utility companies.

NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster (pictured here with Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive of Invest NI, on left of picture, and Antony Crane, Managing Dirctor of Magdalene) announced the project: "This reinforces Northern Ireland's reputation as a value for money location which can strongly compete for, and win, quality investment projects in the ICT sector, despite the global downturn.

"Creating 52 new, highly specialised software engineering and network monitoring jobs over the next two years, this engineering support centre will play an integral role in the growth of Magdalene across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region."

Anthony Crane, Managing Director, Magdalene added: "Magdalene delivers some of the most advanced telecoms solutions currently available so a base from which to develop further business in the EMEA region, primarily in the Republic of Ireland, was essential.

"In looking for a suitable location for our telecoms and engineering support centre, we had a number of factors to consider including the availability of high calibre, technical talent in telecoms networks sector and established links between industry and academia.

"We could not fail to be attracted by the Northern Ireland proposition, particularly when combined with the support offered by Invest NI and this led to our decision to also locate a network operations centre here," he concluded.

(BMcC)