Cloud specialist Metaswitch is opening a centre of excellence in Belfast with hopes of hiring 94 people in the area, with a separate academy aiming to train up 20 graduates as well.
Metaswitch, creator of cloud communications tools for telecoms companies, has announced the opening of a new Belfast base that will bring both jobs and training to the area.
There will be 25 jobs created over the next four months, according to the company, with further growth up to 94 planned over the next three years.
Claiming the final total of jobs will contribute £3.3m in wages per annum, Minister for the Economy Simon Hamilton, MLA said that the region’s “highly educated people” attracted Metaswitch to Belfast.
“The new centre will deliver a competitive and innovative edge to the company’s operations, helping it to compete in a global industry,” said Hamilton.
“The involvement of Invest NI and my department has secured this highly attractive mobile project for Northern Ireland.”
In conjunction with the new office, Hamilton also launched a Metaswitch Academy, a programme designed to give 20 graduates a nine-week training programme, delivered by Belfast Metropolitan College.
Graeme MacArthur, Metaswitch’s executive vice-president of engineering and support services, said: “We were attracted to Northern Ireland primarily because of the stable supply of highly educated people.
“We were particularly impressed by the Assured Skills programme and the close links it fosters between business and the universities, enabling us to feed into curriculums and ensure the ongoing supply of smart people with the right skills.
“High quality telecommunications and lower operating costs were also attractive and we anticipate that the Belfast centre will provide a very cost-effective element of our growth strategy.”
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Belfast image: James Kennedy NI/Shutterstock
