IE
Citi creates another 145 jobs in Belfast
10 July 2008
Citi will employ 850 people in its Belfast technology centre after announcing the creation of another 145 jobs. It’s the latest of a series of financial IT firms setting up north of the border, and raises questions about whether the Northern Irish capital has enough talent to support the growth.
Invest Northern Ireland has injected another £2m into Citi’s tech centre, which has sparked the fourth expansion since the bank set up in Belfast in 2004. Back then it employed just 375 people.
The latest raft of hiring comes after the appointment of a new global chief investment officer, Marty Lippert, whose aim is to “develop technology and operational platforms that are robust, agile, and cost-effective”.
The new Irish jobs are a drop in the ocean of the 23,000 developers Citi employs in total. However, 13 of the 23 tech jobs currently on offer on Citi’s website are in Belfast.
In spite of financial software vendor Fidessa setting up in Belfast and Wombat Financial software creating 75 more jobs this year, Citi remains confident that there’s still enough talent in the region.
Cathy Munro, managing director EMEA securities and banking operations at Citi, says: “The strength of the available skills base within Northern Ireland is backed by a strong educational system and has been borne out in our recruitment efforts over the past three years.”
Ailish McDermott, IT consultant with Brightwater in Belfast, says that a skills shortage does exist, but steps are being taken to address that: “There are conversion courses from non-IT industries – a lot of firms have embraced that, as well as taking on junior candidates.”
The other edge Citi has on its competitors is pay, she says: “Citi are notorious for offering very good salaries.”
A junior software developer in Belfast can expect £18k, says McDermott. This rises to £45k at the top end for a senior developer.
