Northern Ireland is poised to become a significant base for call centres in much the same way as the Republic has in the past few years, according to the Industrial Development Board (IDB) director of network services, Mr Trevor Killen.

When all the projected jobs become a reality in the next few years call centre employment is set to double to over 6,000 in the next few years and further growth is predicted, said Mr Killen.

The availability, quality and high education level of the workforce are significant factors which are drawing more UK and US companies to consider Northern Ireland as a base for operations, said Mr Killen.

However he contends one of the keys to Northern Ireland's success could be the staff retention rate of call centre employers.

He said: "Call centre labour turnover in the UK can be 25 per cent or even up to 50 per cent in some cases but the same statistic in Belfast in 1999 was only 7 per cent."

Grants available from the IDB are also extremely attractive. The £45 million Halifax Call centre, on which work started last week, availed of a £16 million IDB grant.

According to general manager of Halifax Direct, Mr David Walkden, the grant was a factor in the decision to locate in Belfast but the package, as a whole, was the more significant element.

While Belfast remains an extremely attractive proposition for call centre investment the IDB will be looking to locate firms in other regions. Mr Killen points to operations already up and running in Derry, Eniskillen and Craigavon.

However the IDB will concentrate on companies that can offer high value added contributions to the economy. This will either be in terms of the use and promotion of high technology which will make use of the workforce's high skills level or a high quality customer service.