Now recruiting for 100 technology jobs here in Ireland, Fidelity Investments is one company that recognises the potential for technology skills development to create new opportunities for both professionals and companies.
Back in February, Fidelity Investments announced it would be creating 100 new technology jobs in Ireland focused on investment management and corporate enterprise technology solutions for its global operations.
The company is making progress in hiring and is “very pleased” with the response it has received so far, according to Julie Davenport, senior vice-president of Fidelity Investments and managing director for the Fidelity Technology Group in Ireland.
“We’re continuing to recruit for positions in Galway and Dublin and will add new positions over the course of 2011,” she says.
“As far as the type of individual we look for and the experience needed, we value not only the technology knowledge and aptitude you’d expect but also broad business skills – things like the ability to organise one’s workload, to analyse problems and to present ideas clearly.
“The financial services landscape is becoming more complex and more global, which means our employees have to adapt accordingly. We do everything we can to develop and support them. In addition, given Fidelity’s global expansion into various foreign markets, language skills will be of value and importance, along with technology expertise.”
The new people Fidelity is taking on will support the company’s operations in the US, Europe and Asia and will work with a variety of divisions, including Asset Management, Corporate Technology, Information Security and Enterprise Infrastructure. They will oversee a diverse range of technology projects that touch almost every aspect of Fidelity’s global businesses.
“Our employees tell us that one of the things they find most rewarding about working at Fidelity is the fact that they are solving problems as part of a larger team. They feel they’re contributing to Fidelity’s overall business goals and are not valued simply for their technology expertise,” says Davenport.
Ireland’s highly educated workforce is one reason Fidelity is expanding here and Davenport says the company would encourage a continued emphasis on technology skills development in Ireland.
“This is an expanding field and career choice that presents opportunities for both technology professionals and companies in a variety of industries.”
Fidelity Investments invests heavily in technology – about $2bn annually – and this provides a competitive advantage for the firm, Davenport notes.
“Since underlying technologies change constantly and the business problems being solved by technology are increasingly complex, Fidelity’s commitment to staying current and understanding how people use technology serves us well.
“This includes everything from familiarity with global markets and trading life cycles to the use of mobile and tablet technology. These are all key elements of our business and we’re able to be quite agile and to weave that knowledge into the technology development projects we undertake. It’s also what makes the field so interesting for our employees,” she affirms.
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