PROFESSTIONAL services giant EY has announced plans to create 136 new jobs in Belfast over the next year.
The major recruitment drive, which is part of an all-island effort to recruit 600 people, will bring the company’s headcount in the north to over 650.
Last year the company, which is also known as Ernst & Young, announced plans to create 95 new jobs at its offices at Bedford Street in Belfast.
EY said it follows a period of double-digit growth for the group over six consecutive years.
The 136 new positions left Belfast as the largest beneficiary outside Dublin in yesterday’s announcement.
EY currently has ten offices across the island. The company said the new jobs will bring its total Irish workforce to around 3,700.
Over one-third of the new jobs will be advertised for experienced hires, which will be filled by the end of June 2020. The rest will be filled by university graduates to start in October 2020.
The posts will range from data analytics and IT to risk and fraud investigation.
Speaking yesterday, Leo Varadkar said it was a good news story for the entire island of Ireland.
“These are highly skilled jobs that will be created across six cities over the next year. It’s super that more than half of the jobs will go to new graduates, providing young people with a great start to their career straight out of college.
“The regional spread of new jobs across six city-regions is very much in line with the Government’s focus on balanced regional development. 220,000 new jobs have been created since 2016, with six out of every 10 created outside Dublin.
“Announcements like this help to reinforce the message that Ireland is a global hub for business and innovation, with great locations in which to invest nationwide. With many international challenges disrupting markets worldwide it is encouraging to see EY confidently power ahead with strong growth and an ambitious jobs strategy.”
Michael Hall, managing partner at EY Northern Ireland, said: “Our plans to create these new roles over the coming months reflects our continuing strong growth and ongoing commitment to Northern Ireland. Our clients are very resilient and managing a number of short-term challenges and opportunities as best they can, but uncertainty is making many hesitant to commit to longer-term plans.
“The key for our clients is to remain flexible and agile through the coming months, and we’re here to support all of them every step of the way. Today’s business environment requires a new diversity of skills and thought. These new roles will help us to continue offering our clients exceptional service into the future.”
EY Ireland’s managing partner Frank O’Keeffe, added: “Our clients’ business models are adapting to embrace digital transformation and other new opportunities while dealing with multiple macro-economic challenges.
“We in EY are supporting our clients every step of their business journey with our world class teams.
“While there are many headwinds for Irish businesses, not least of which is Brexit, our clients are turning to us to support them on all of their strategic priorities including climate change, talent, digital disruption, global tax planning and heightened levels of assurance.”
