Call centre developments are at the heart of new employment opportunities in Scotland and Wales.

The Halifax is recruiting 600 more agents for its new telephone banking centre in Edinburgh, pushing the number of jobs here to over 1000. This is part of a £100M expansion of phone and internet services.

In Wales, One 2 One is reported to be negotiating with the Welsh Development Agency to establish a call centre in the employment blackspot of Merthyr Tydfil.

The WDA, like similar agencies, has targeted call centres as job generators. This one could provide employment for about 800 people.

And in Ireland, Xerox has announced that it is to create 600 more jobs at its two new developments - an international customer services centre near Dublin and a manufacturing centre in Dundalk. Construction at both sites is being project managed by SI CBX. Total Xerox investment in the country is climbing towards IR£400M, a success story for the Irish government's policy of encouraging more spending by companies already located in the Republic.

Elliott Chase