200 jobs as Virgin Atlantic open Swansea call centre

A total of 200 jobs have been created in Swansea with the official opening of a call centre handling inquiries for airline Virgin Atlantic.

Alexandra House was opened by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones on Tuesday.

He described the opening as "excellent news" during the "current economic climate".

It comes after research published last month showed that Swansea was too dependant on public sector employment.

Mr Jones said: "It will provide an important boost to the local economy creating a range of jobs and career opportunities which is of particular importance during the current economic climate."

Important sector

Virgin's Swansea centre received financial backing from Welsh Assembly Government.

It will support the inquiry-handling work already carried out at the airline's Crawley call centre in West Sussex.

An estimated 28,000 people are employed in call centres in Wales.

In Swansea there are five agencies recruiting call centre staff, one factor in attracting Virgin to the city, according to chief commercial and financial officer, Julie Southern.

"We know that Swansea has many experienced customer service staff and we look forward to being able to use their valuable experience," she said.