SCOTLAND’s depth of talent and the country’s robust financial sector have been cited by professional services giant KPMG for its decision to create up to 400 jobs in Glasgow in its second UK Managed Services hub.
It will see 200 jobs created in the short-term – 50 are already in place, with a further 150 commencing in June – with a view to reaching 400 over the next three years as the firm continues to increase its operations in Scotland.
The Managed Services team will be offering clients high-quality, cost-efficient and rapidly scalable outsourced operations, and the jobs will comprise a mixture of data gatherers, analysts and managers from a wide variety of backgrounds and specialisms.
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They will include modern apprentices and graduates, as well as experienced professionals and will be based alongside KPMG’s Tax Centre of Excellence at St Vincent Street, where the company has expanded its operation.
KPMG employs more than 207,000 people worldwide – more than 1000 in Scotland – and said the new team will carry out bulk due diligence processing and large-scale data analysis for customers.
This will include handling regulatory requirements, complaints handling, customer remediation and various other “business as usual” and administrative functions.
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The company said the decision to open the hub in Glasgow is underpinned by its recognition of the depth of talent in Scotland, which is coupled with a robust financial services sector – where much of the Managed Services work will take place.
Alongside its core operations at St Vincent Plaza, KPMG hopes the new team in Glasgow will be a key driver of growth in Scotland, as it will work with cross-sector clients in the UK and internationally.
Recruits will undergo comprehensive induction training, while ongoing support and development will be a central focus for growing the team and retaining talent.
KPMG said it will work to ensure there is a clear career path on offer for all recruits.
Catherine Burnet, senior partner for KPMG in Scotland, said: “Managed Services will play a key role in the firm’s growth in Scotland.
“We recognise the country has a real depth of talent feeding in from its schools, colleges and universities, as well as an established financial services sector, and we want to harness those as part of our long-term strategy.
“Managed Services is a relatively new offering and we see significant growth potential, as clients across sectors increasingly have to rapidly respond to changes in regulations in areas such as finance, technology, data-handling and privacy.
“Additionally, there’s a real demand for bulk data analysis, which enables organisations to make more informed and smarter business decisions in a more efficient manner.
“Managed Services effectively answers those calls, by quickly mobilising large teams, using the most appropriate technologies and processes, and combines them with our specialist insight – to deliver a cost effective and quality service.
“Our latest investment follows a strong year in Scotland, where all parts of the practice delivered a positive performance.
“As of the end of our last financial year we had more than 1050 staff in Scotland, and we are committed to growing this figure with the launch of the new hub, alongside wider firm growth.”
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