Londonderry received some early Christmas cheer today with the announcement that 160 jobs are to be created in the city.

Firstsource which already employees over 600 people in the city has announced it will be looking to employ another 160 between now and mid-January.

The expansion is due to the strong relationship the company has built up with one of its principal clients — Sky.

Firstsource — one of India's top five business process outsourcing providers — has hit its targets with Sky month on month since it first opened in Derry in October 2006.

The resulting demand for more jobs at Northland Road the call centre is a testament to the workers, said manager Shaun Harnett.

The global call centre company provides help for a range of customers across the financial services, telecom and media, travel and healthcare industries in Europe, Asia and North and South America.

The company provides a range of services for clients that covers call centre and back office processing services spanning customer acquisition and customer service, back office processing, through to billing, provisioning and collections.

The 160 new jobs in Derry will cover a range of rolls from call centre operations and beyond.

To explain what opportunities exist within the company two open days are being held at the Northland road site tonight from 4pm to 8pm and on November 29 at the City Hotel from 10am to 3pm.

Speaking on the radio, Mr Harnett said: “This is a testament to the hard working team already here. We've had a lot of people coming to us and what we are looking for are people with an ability to talk — something the people in Derry are good at.

“We started operations here two years ago in October 2006. We now have over 600 staff in Derry and today's announcement of 160 jobs will bring it up to around 800.

“The staff have done a phenomenal job over the last two years with the customer and we have a very positive relationship with the customer.

“What's working for us in this relationship is the ability to hit targets every month for the last two years.

“I do think there is a significant difference here. The people are very friendly and are committed to the job.

“It is something we pick up on that they have conversations with the callers and don't just treat them like another problem. It's all down to the positive approach.”

Mr Harnett added that the company would be paying competitive rates of pay on a monthly basis with the opportunity of overtime. Basic rate of pay would start between £12,000 and £13,000 which could go up to £14,000.