PM Modi's visit leads to NIIT setting up Ireland delivery centre

Dublin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Ireland has been followed up by Indian IT firm NIIT announcing a new delivery centre to be set up here.

The Gurgaon-headquartered IT-based learning and training institute said it will?establish a new European Delivery Centre in Dublin, creating 110 jobs over five years.

"Europe is an important and growing market for NIIT?s Corporate Learning Group. Ireland was our country of choice for its extremely conducive business environment, strategic location, availability of multilingual creative and technical talent and investment potential," said Sapnesh Lalla, president for NIIT's Corporate Learning Group.

The development is supported by Ireland's Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ireland.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny had made a reference to today's official announcement during his joint press statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday: "I also welcome the NIIT company here to Ireland with a 110 jobs, with the IDA working strongly in terms of foreign direct investments here."

Modi had also made a specific reference to Ireland as a base for Indian IT firms, calling for a favourable visa regime for Indian professionals.

"India and Ireland are ideally placed to form a productive partnership to take advantage of the opportunities in the digital age... I also hope that Ireland's visa policy will be sensitive to the requirements of Indian IT firms," he said.

The focus of the latest announcement is NIIT?s Corporate Learning Group (CLG), which delivers comprehensive managed training services including Custom Curriculum Design and Content Development, Learning Administration, Learning Delivery, Strategic Sourcing, Learning Technology and Advisory Services.

Ireland was chosen as the location for the new European Delivery Centre due to the availability of suitable creative and technical talent and multi-lingual skills, the cluster of existing learning technology companies and open business environment, the company said.

The new roles will include high-end engineers, creative writers and digital media professionals. Other roles will be for trainers, multilingual customer service support and project managers.

"I have been to India on three major trade missions since taking office and I have seen first-hand the amazing work being done by our agencies in that market and the massive potential for attracting investments and jobs to Ireland," said Ireland's minister for jobs, Richard Bruton.

"I am well aware from our meetings in New Delhi that NIIT is a world-leading company in its sector, and today?s announcement that it is establishing its first operation in Ireland and creating 110 jobs is a huge boost. I wish NIIT every success with this great project," Bruton added.