Call centre dials up 250 new jobs

The firm says its success has led to the expansion

Plans for a £3.5m call centre in Newport which could lead to more than 250 jobs have been announced by telephone directory firm Yell.

The company plans to expand its Yellow Pages 118 247 service and has secured premises in George Street in the city.

The expansion, which has had grant aid from the Welsh Assembly Government, will complement the firm's existing centre in Bristol.

The centre is expected to begin operating in April.

The company said it hoped that the new centre in Usk House would mean it could double the number of full time advisers it employed.

It is being seen as a welcome boost to the fortunes of the city, which in recent years has endured a series of jobs blows.

The most recent disappointment was the loss of 315 jobs when LG Electronics announced its closure in August.

We're very much looking forward to further development from our Newport site John Condron, Yell

It is hoped the new call centre will help revitalise employment opportunities alongside the city's multimillion pound regeneration.

Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks Andrew Davies said: "Newport is being promoted as a premier location for business and the decision by a company of Yell's calibre and world-class reputation to locate a new operation in the city centre is a resounding vote of confidence.

"Newport has for some time been at the vanguard of developments in what is a thriving and dynamic contact centre industry which now employs more than 24,000 people across Wales.

"The city is a recognised and well established hub of excellence in this sector offering a superb communication infrastructure and a high quality, skilled and adaptable workforce which was one of the deciding factors in Yell's choice of location."

Yell chief executive John Condron said: "I'm delighted that the success of Yellow Pages 118 247 means that we need a second call centre to expand our future call handling capability and to grow further the service through the recruitment of a new pool of talented, motivated people based in Wales.

"Our existing call centre team has worked extremely hard to develop the UK service in the last three years and we're very much looking forward to further development from our Newport site.

"As a reputable and responsible company we're very pleased to be playing a part also in the regeneration of the region."