IBM creates 300 jobs with Services Centre in Leicester

In a business world ever further defined by digital integration and practice, IT infrastructure and software solutions are increasingly seen as vital to a national economy. To bolster offerings of its technological services to clients based in the UK, IBM recently announced the creation of a new service centre in the City of Leicester. The centre will create 300 new IT based jobs over the coming three years to the city.

IBM’s new services centre, named ‘IBM Services Centre: Leicester’, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM. The aim of the centre is to provide key services to UK clients, which will involve developing applications, maintenance, and the testing and running of system management services addressing the increasing demand for flexible software capabilities. With these offerings, IBM hopes to be able to benefit UK businesses with Cloud, Big Data Analytics, Mobile, Social and Security technologies.

To man the new service centre with the needed IT knowledge, the firm will create 300 high value and high skilled IT roles for the region, with both graduates and experienced professionals expected to be hired for work that requires a technical background as well as IT aptitude; with apprenticeships and internships to be offered to talent in the local catchment area.

Boosting the local economy
The centres development is in collaboration with Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, with the latter providing support through it Regional Growth Fund, with an aim of “providing geographic proximity while working in tandem with IBM's globally integrated capability network.” Through the centre’s development, the regional economic output is to be stimulated. “This is excellent news and a significant achievement for the city council in terms of our economic regeneration of the city. We have worked very closely with IBM, and I am delighted that they have now chosen Leicester for their UK base,” comments Leicester’s City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby. “This move reinforces that Leicester can not only meet the location needs of major businesses, but that it is also a great place to study and work, and to build an exciting future.”

“This investment in job creation aims to inspire the next-generation workforce from local technical colleges and universities who will deliver the technology skills needed to drive business innovation in the UK,” says David Stokes, Chief Executive of IBM UK and Ireland. “The new centre will help to position Leicester as a hub for global businesses and reflects IBM’s long-standing commitment to developing skills and providing high-value technology services to business across the UK.”