Atos plans major expansion with 50 new jobs in Moray
IT services giant - leader in the provision of shared services to the Scottish public sector to create jobs based in Forres
International IT services company, Atos, is to create 50 high value jobs in Moray at a new development and innovation centre. This centre will be temporarily accommodated at the RAF Kinloss base before moving into its permanent Forres location in Spring 2013.
With a firm focus on recruiting locally, Atos’ new centre will deliver secure IT development and testing services for private and public sector clients. The creation of the high value posts for the area is to be supported by a £1 million grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Atos has been exploring the possibility of recruiting and re-training some of the highly-qualified staff employed in the Moray area since the end of last year.
Since establishing an office in Inverness earlier this year, Atos is now delivering on its commitments to focus on the region.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, said: “This jobs announcement is a welcome boost for Moray and I’m pleased that the company has made a commitment to the area.
"The Scottish Government, Scottish Development International and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are working hard to secure new jobs and investment and to retain Scotland's position as the most competitive environment for business in the UK.”
“Scotland is home to a wealth of innovative and ambitious businesses and Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been working with Atos on its growth plans, which have been assisted by a £1 million HIE grant.”
“This positive result for Moray and for Scotland is an excellent example of partnership working by members of the Moray Economic Partnership.”
"The Scottish Government has worked closely with the Partnership since it was established to mitigate the impacts of the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review and we will continue to support their work to maximise the opportunities that have arisen since the changes at RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth."
Gavin Thomson, Senior Vice President - Scotland, Atos said: ‘We are delighted to be building a strategic development and innovation centre in the Moray area, creating a large number of high value jobs. This is a good news story for the new recruits, for the Moray area and for Atos.”
He added: “As a major supplier to the UK and Scottish Governments, the wealth of skills available in the Moray community was an important consideration for Atos. There should be opportunities in the future to increase the size of the centre and create more jobs delivering our contracts.’
Atos is continuing to invest in its Scottish business and has developed a year long training programme to ensure that every new recruit will have the appropriate skills and experience to ensure the Moray centre is an exemplar within Atos and across the IT sector. In addition to formal training each recruit will receive mentoring from dedicated business technologists within Atos.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has played a key role in coordinating a partnership between Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, and Atos.
Alex Paterson, HIE Chief Executive, said: “HIE is delighted to have worked with Atos and our public sector partners to bring this investment by a global company to the Moray area.
“The creation of 50 high value jobs delivering cutting edge services in research, health and security industries will go some way to alleviating the current challenges Moray faces. Local partnership working since the base review has meant we were able to provide Atos with comprehensive information on the breadth of skills both within the base and in the wider community. The public funding will support the workforce transition to this exciting new opportunity."
Atos is the IT partner for, and delivers the IT managed services of the Skills Development Scotland Information Systems (IS) Shared Services agreement.
Since April 2010, this now includes other non-departmental public bodies - Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), in order to transform IT to achieve efficiencies and service improvements.
The MOD has facilitated this development by providing temporary accommodation at RAF Kinloss.
About Atos
Atos is an international information technology services company with annual 2010 pro forma revenues of EUR 8.6 billion and 74,000 employees in 42 countries at the end of September 2011. Serving a global client base, it delivers hi-tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients across the following market sectors: Manufacturing, Retail, Services; Public, Health & Transport; Financial Services; Telecoms, Media & Technology; Energy & Utilities.Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting and Technology Services, Atos Worldline and Atos WorldGrid. For more information, visit: atos.net <http://www.atos.net>
About Atos Scotland
In Scotland, Atos has over 1500 employees operating from offices across the country including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Linwood and Livingston. Their clients include Aberdeen City Council, Aegon, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, BNP Paribas, Capita, FirstGroup, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, NHSScotland, the Ministry of Defence, Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, Scottish Development International , Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Power, Scottish Public Pensions Agency, ScotRail, Stagecoach ,Tesco Bank, The University of Glasgow and VION Food Group. Atos won the West Lothian Business Excellence Awards for Best Business 2009, 2010 and 2011.
About Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is the Scottish Government's economic and community development agency for a diverse region which covers more than half of Scotland. It operates through area teams located from Shetland to Argyll and from the Outer Hebrides to Moray.
HIE works to deliver the Scottish Government Economic Strategy which aims to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.
In Moray, HIE is a member of the Moray Economic Partnership which brings together private and public sector representatives to maximise the impact of activities to diversify and grow the economy.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.uk.atos.net
CONTACT: John Morrison – Tel : 07740 096046 – john@mmm.pr