A highly skilled workforce and research carried out by top-calibre Irish universities were key factors in the decicion by US multinational Fidelity Investments to expand its operations here with the view of creating some 75 new jobs at its Galway base.
Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, first established its presence in Ireland in 1996 and currently has more than 240 technology associates working at office locations in Dublin and Galway. Earlier this week it was announced that the company will be adding 100 new positions to its Irish operations and it is expected that some 75 recruits will join the Galway operation at Parkmore East Business Park where 125 people are already employed. This move by Fidelity, which is supported by IDA Ireland, also represents an investment of €11 million over three years.
Speaking about the decision to further invest in its Irish operations, senior vice president of Fidelity Investments, Julia Davenport, said: “Ireland is a proven market in which Fidelity can continue to develop a vital part of our global technology organization. By expanding here, Fidelity is making a strategic, long-term, decision to invest in a region with a well-educated, highly skilled, workforce from which we can draw the quality talent needed to provide services across the firm. We’re so pleased to be collaborating with the IDA as well as our partners at several outstanding Irish universities."
Ms Davenport said that this decision will ensure the company is well-positioned to further expand its current operations in Ireland and enhance its contributions to future technology projects. She cited the quality of the Irish workforce, the success of Fidelity’s existing operations in Ireland, and the research carried out in Irish universities as key factors in the company’s decision to expand here.
IDA Ireland CEO, Barry O’Leary, said that the addition of 100 highly skilled technology jobs is an excellent endorsement of Ireland’s flexible workforce. He added: “Fidelity’s investment shows our capacity to provide an increasingly competitive, business friendly, environment in which technology companies can grow and develop. Fidelity has one of the largest R&D divisions within the multinational financial services sector operating in Ireland and IDA Ireland is delighted to work closely with the company as it embeds its operations further here."
The new positions will be part of Fidelity Technology Group (FTG ), which is responsible for the company’s technology, research, services and operations. FTG provides a diverse range of technology projects that touch almost every aspect of Fidelity’s global businesses including portfolio monitoring and trading, voice recognition systems, user interface design, business process management (BPM ), and workflow transaction processing and fund pricing and market data technology. Fidelity’s new technology associates will be engaged in software development such as Java and .NET, performance and test engineering, database development and management, systems analysis, and QA.
