Tullett Prebon to create 300 new IT jobs for Belfast
A London financial services company is to create 300 new IT jobs in Belfast.
Tullett Prebon will make the posts, with an average salary of £33,000, available over the next three years as they establish a major technology centre in the city. First Minister Arlene Foster said the jobs will contribute £10m in salaries to the local economy. She said the move was a "vote of confidence" in the Northern Ireland workforce. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: "Tullett Prebon creating 300 new jobs and choosing to locate their new technology centre here is terrific news. Outstanding "The new jobs will offer an average salary of £33,000, providing excellent opportunities for graduate and experienced IT professionals as well as school leavers." Invest Northern Ireland has offered Tullett Prebon over £2m towards the creation of the new jobs with the Department for the Economy Assured Skills programme providing £400k for associated training. Analysis: BBC NI business correspondent Julian O'Neill The announcement of 300 jobs is the largest the Northern Ireland executive has been able to unveil in ten months. It continues Belfast's track record of attracting well paid jobs in the financial services sector. Negotiations about the jobs took a year to conclude and were set in motion long before the EU referendum, the outcome of which did not torpedo an important inward investment. The executive and Invest NI are very keen to project a business-as-usual message and this announcement aids that narrative. But beneath the surface, the DUP and Sinn Fein are deeply at odds over what a Brexit future holds for the local economy. Tuesday's announcement will be welcomed all round, but nothing can really be read into its wider significance vis-à-vis Brexit and whether that will disadvantage Northern Ireland's chance of inward investment. Luke Barnett, of Tullett Prebon, said: "We are delighted to announce the launch of our technology centre in Northern Ireland. "We looked at many potential locations and Belfast was the outstanding choice. "The combination of a highly educated workforce, attractive business environment and great infrastructure, underpinned by the support of local government and Invest Northern Ireland, offers a compelling proposition for a global financial services group such as ours."