News / Cutting Edge Telecoms Firm Invests In...
Cutting Edge Telecoms Firm Invests In Scarborough
Wednesday 22nd June 2005
1st Locate, a leading call-centre provider, has announced plans to open a new Scarborough based centre in August, a move expected to create over 80 jobs in the area by the start of 2006.
After considering a number of options, 1st Locate is bucking the trend of call-centres moving to India, by choosing the East Coast as its preferred location to expand. The company, currently headquartered in Leeds, boasts a client list which includes such household names as Powergen, Yorkshire Water and Scottish Power. The new call-centre will be located in Scarborough Business Park near Eastfield. Initially the centre will have 40 staff, increasing to 80 by the beginning of 2006.
The announcement represents one of the largest inward investment projects for the town in recent years and was due in a large part to the work of Scarborough Borough Council's Regeneration Team together with york-england.com, the Inward Investment Agency for North Yorkshire. In May york-england.com appointed Rob Littlefair as its first Inward Investment Manager with specific responsibility for the North Yorkshire Coast area. Building on its success in York, york-england.com is becoming increasingly involved in promoting the North Yorkshire Coast and helping to put Scarborough more firmly on the map for investors.
"The decision by 1st Locate to open its new call-centre in Scarborough is a very positive development for the town. Not only will it help create new jobs in the area but the new call-centre will also help bring a new dynamic to the local business community. We believe Scarborough is well positioned to lead the areas bid to attract more investment and will continue to work closely with Scarborough Borough Council to help ensure that we convert investor interest into new business and jobs,'' said Adam Purser, Marketing Director of york-england.com.
According to Andrew Barclay, Managing Director at 1st Locate, some 80,000 UK jobs have been lost to call-centres relocating to countries like India in the last five years. "I feel the UK customer service industry has been very hasty in moving so many operations overseas to places like India. It is totally unnecessary. Our new call centre in Scarborough will prove this and show that we can compete here in the UK in terms of productivity, costs and in the quality of service.''
1st Locate is a pioneer of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) software in the call centre market, which uses the Internet for telephone calls. The company currently has its main call-centre in Leeds employing 50 people. Once the Scarborough facility is operational the two centres will be linked using Scarborough's new high capacity fibre optic cable.
According to Andrew, the secret of 1st Locate's success competing with overseas call-centres, is using the latest software, keeping non operational management to a minimum and having a well trained workforce with a low staff turnover. 1st Locate's recruitment policy, which favours personality and telephone skills over qualifications and experience, offers the possibility of a career change for people of all ages and hope for many of Scarborough's long term unemployed.
"As our operation expands we need to be able to ensure a good supply of high quality people. Scarborough is an ideal location because the labour market for the call centre industry is as yet untapped. We see great potential here,'' said Andrew. He added ``on a more personal note Scarborough offers a great quality of life.''
Cllr. Tom Fox, Portfolio Holder for Economic and Community Development commented: "This is a very exciting development for Scarborough. 1st Locate is an excellent company with a strong commitment to the Government's New Deal strategy. It is a relatively new market for our Borough but one that I'm sure will go from strength to strength. The Regeneration team has done a stirling job to clinch this deal for Scarborough."
