EK WELCOMES 470 NEW JOBS
Politicians backing two-phase proposal
A massive jobs boost of nearly 500 posts over the next year is coming to East Kilbride with the creation of a new contact centre.
AGO Outsourcing – a business process outsourcing firm – will bring 90 jobs to the town in the next few months and phase two will launch early 2018 with the creation of an additional 380 jobs.
The contact centre will be in Orbital House in Peel Park – the former home of Scottish Nuclear.
It follows the loss of a number of high-profile employers in recent years and Centre 1, which is set to pull out of the town by 2025.
Müller Milk & Ingredient’s historic Nerston plant is also set to close with the loss of 131 jobs.
Meanwhile, plans for a Lidl on the site of Atholl House have also been lodged with South Lanarkshire Could which could bring 40 jobs to the town, and there are proposals for a hotel in part of Plaza Tower which could also see new jobs created.
The announcement from AGO Outsourcing has been welcomed by the town’s MP and MSP who say they are keen to meet with the company and discuss their plans for growth in East Kilbride, saying it is exactly what is needed following the demise of major industries.
A contact centre will bring nearly 500 much-needed jobs to East Kilbride over the next year.
The announcement is a massive boost to the town following the loss of a number of high-profile employers in recent years.
Almost 3000 jobs are set to go with HMRC due to pull out of the town by 2025 and relocate staff to a regional centre in Glasgow and the axe will fall on Müller Milk & Ingredient’s historic Nerston plant with the loss of 131 jobs.
AGO Outsourcing – a business process outsourcing firm – will bring 90 jobs to the town in the next few months and phase two will launch early in 2018 with the creation of an additional 380 jobs.
The business will be based in the former home of Scottish Nuclear in Peel Park.
AGO specialises in providing services or full off site management of departments or services on behalf of some of the UK’s largest firms within the energy, telecommunication and financial services sectors and staff in East Kilbride will also deal with additional areas such as data processing, customer service and payments processes.
And with other businesses within its portfolio the company want to deliver further growth in East Kilbride in coming years.
Denise Cassidy, Contact Centre Operations Manager, told the News: “Many months were spent travelling across Scotland from north to south to find the perfect venue.
“We needed somewhere that would reflect the high corporate brand of AGO, but would also provide all the additional items on our wish list such as disability access, strong transport links, and also high on the agenda a strong availability of candidates that have the correct skill set.
“The venue at East Kilbride was the former home of Scottish Nuclear and as soon as we saw it, we knew it had everything we had hoped for and its location in Peel Park makes it very central for anyone in South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow and even Kilmarnock.
“East Kilbride has seen significant job losses over the years including Motorola, Freescale, Rolls-Royce and most recently the announcement by HMRC at Centre 1.
“In addition to this, the lack of businesses of this type in the town meant we could become a strong employer within the area, building long term careers, which is something we are very passionate about.”
Denise added: “Throughout my career I have excelled on opportunities that have been given to me and I want to do the same for everyone that joins the AGO family.
“We will encourage candidates to apply that have never worked in this sector before but have the right personality and drive to succeed.
“In addition to this we will also be investing in every member of staff with external training providers to deliver national level qualifications to our staff.”
The town’s MSP, Linda Fabiani, has welcomed the news saying: “This really is exciting news, bringing a much-needed boost of almost 500 jobs to our town.
“With the demise of major industry over the past few years, these jobs are exactly what East Kilbride needs.
“I am sure the people of our town will welcome the creation of these jobs, and I look forward to meeting representatives from AGO soon to discuss their plans in further detail.”
Dr Lisa Cameron MP added: “I am pleased to welcome almost 500 new jobs to East Kilbride via AGO.
“With Brexit, it is important that we maintain employment and continue to attract new companies to our constituency.
“I will arrange to meet with the company and with staff in due course to discuss their plans.”