BUSINESS
Fujitsu to create 30 jobs in Belfast
01-08-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
There was good news for Belfast on the jobs front with the announcement that Fujitsu Services is to create 30 new jobs in the area.
The new employees are being drafted in to staff the company's STG3.2 million Oracle Centre of Excellence, and will be mostly placed in IT and technical roles -- jobs that are considered "high value". The staff will be supporting and developing a system for Fujitsu Services' customers across Europe.
Michael Crow, Fujitsu Services' Northern Ireland's head of applications services, told ENN that the company chose Belfast because it could build on the existing facilities already in place in the area, and that the firm was confident it could recruit the right staff for the new roles.
Recruitment for the new positions has already started, Crow said, and although he couldn't confirm if any more new jobs were on the cards, he didn't rule out any further expansion in the future. "We're always looking for new opportunities," he explained.
The centre's establishment is in response to growing demand for the Oracle eBusiness Suite services. The specialist hub that is being located in Belfast will centralise future development.
The new Oracle project will be supported by Invest NI, which has already offered Fujitsu STG150,000 in support of the project.
Invest NI Chief Executive Leslie Morrison was upbeat about the jobs announcement. "Fujitsu is a global blue-chip company. Therefore, its decision to focus key capabilities within its Oracle Practice in Belfast reinforces Northern Ireland's reputation as a competitive location, with a highly-skilled ICT workforce," he said.
Fujitsu already employs some 25 people at its Northern Ireland Oracle Practice. This latest announcement follows the news in June that the firm is planning to create 400 new jobs in Derry and Belfast as part of an STG18 million investment in a new Managed IT Services Centre of Excellence.
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