BUS maker Wrightbus is the latest firm in the north to announce a massive new recruitment drive with 130 new positions set to be created.
It is part of a £14 million investment by the Ballymena-headquartered Wright Group at its research and development plant in Antrim.
And the scheme - which is being supported to the tune of £1.8m by Invest NI - brings to almost 3,000 the number of jobs it has helped create in the last two months alone.
The agency is expected to reveal a target-busting performance for the past 12 months when it announces year-end results later this week.
In January Invest NI had already achieved its target of creating 4,000 positions under the jobs fund initiative since its inception at the end of 2011.
Announcements in recent weeks have included 1,000 new jobs at Concentrix, almost 500 at EY and 400 at Capita.
The past year has also seen jobs boosts in the shape of more than 1,000 positions at the Stream call centre, 400 at Terumo, 260 at Terex, 230 at Almac, 200 at Fujitsu and 165 at BT.
The new jobs at Wrightbus will be at its EN-Drive facility dedicated to the design and manufacture of integral vehicle chassis.
It will under take five projects which will include developing a range of low-cost buses for the Indian market, streamlined double-deckers for the Australia and New Zealand markets, eco-friendly electric-powered vehicles for the Hong Kong market as well as buses for Middle East countries, and a new integral chassis.
Enterprise minister Arlene Foster described the firm as "one of our most successful indigenous manufacturing companies and this is in large part due to its continuous focus on innovation".
"The company has high growth potential as is reflected in the creation of 130 new jobs which will generate £2.5m a year in wages for the local economy. It is also strategically important to the Northern Ireland supply chain.
"By tailoring its research and development projects to target specific export markets, Wrights Group will be well positioned to compete for more contracts across the globe. This is good news for Northern Ireland and for our economy as a whole."
Wright Group managing director Mark Nodder said: "Our aim is to be
come a world class designer and manufacturer of integral public transport vehicles and evolve into a major international supplier to the worldwide bus market.
This investment brings us a step closer to achieving that. With Invest NI's support we will be able to bring products to market quickly and we anticipate that within four years we can triple export sales."
SDLP councillor Declan O'Loan said it was a "good news story from a firm that is proactive and dedicated to growing its business in Northern Ireland".
Alliance councillor Neil Kelly said it was "fantastic news".
"Following a difficult few years after the global economic downturn, we are seeing a number of positive signs for our economy," he said.