News Release Archive
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/TOURISM--Yarmouth Call Centre Opening
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A new call centre will open on Yarmouth's Main Street, bringing
jobs and economic growth to the area.
Telesis Communications Inc. will have 14 people marketing
insurance products and other customer support services for
businesses by the beginning of December. Over the next three
years, 23 full-time positions will be created.
Government support for the centre was announced today by Senator
Al Graham on behalf of Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Human
Resources Development Canada, and Yarmouth MLA Richie Hubbard on
behalf of Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and
Tourism.
"The government of Canada is pleased to support this initiative
which will provide valuable employment opportunities to residents
in the Yarmouth area," said Senator Graham. "This investment in
the field of technology will also support economic growth."
The federal government is contributing $554,388 through the
Transitional Jobs Fund, while the province is providing a
$112,000 loan to the company. That loan will be forgiven after
five years if 20 jobs have been created.
"Telesis is a welcome addition to the Yarmouth area," said Mr.
Hubbard. "In addition to creating much-needed jobs in the area,
the company is helping us to diversify our economy."
Company president Matthew Trask and his associates have been
working on the proposal to establish a centre for over a year.
"We've studied other call centres, including visiting the United
Kingdom to explore how they operate. We learned that corporate
environment and staff motivation are critical to success so we'll
be investing heavily in those areas.
"We're especially pleased to have such talented people working
with us," said Mr. Trask. "The Yarmouth area has an excellent
employment pool to draw from. We looked for certain behavioural
traits in people, including a customer-service focus and
self-motivation. They'll get the hands-on skills through an
extensive training program to be conducted before we open the
centre in December."
Mr. Trask said he believes the company's biggest growth will come
from businesses that outsource customer support services. "Our
service will include specially trained and bilingual staff
working with state-of-the-art equipment," he said.
The new company is a welcome boost to the area's economy, said
Frank Anderson, executive director with the South West Shore
Development Authority. "Call centres are providing new jobs, and
this makes them highly attractive to regions like the South West
Shore looking to replace jobs lost in industries. Having one
industry player should help us attract even more call centres to
Western Nova Scotia," said Mr. Anderson, who helped the company
negotiate with various levels of government.
The government of Canada's Transitional Jobs Fund totals $300
million over three years and promotes economic growth and
employment in areas of high unemployment. The fund was
implemented at the same time as the Employment Insurance System
on July 1, 1996, and assists regions throughout Canada to develop
long-term sustainable employment in areas that have good
prospects for future growth.
The fund is designed to encourage partnership initiatives with
other levels of government, the private sector and community
groups. Projects are subject to consultations with the provincial
or territorial government in which the activity takes place,
regardless of their financial participation. Projects must also
be consistent with regional economic development strategies.
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Contact: Angela Poirier
Economic Development and Tourism
902-424-1593
E-mail: econ.poirieam@gov.ns.ca
Kathy Moggridge
Human Resources Development Canada
902-426-5383
E-mail: kathy.moggridge@hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
Michael Trask, Chairman
Matthew Trask, President
Telesis Communications Inc.
902-742-3531
E-mail: mlt@lgtrask.com
Frank Anderson
South West Shore Development Authority
902-742-3021
E-mail: swsday@auracom.com
AU CHEF DES NOUVELLES: Pour version francaise, appeler
902-424-4492 ou c. elec. rossng@gov.ns.ca.
ngr October 10, 1997 1:00 pm
