Fortis fortifies jobs

The midlands town of Athlone is set to get a welcome jobs boost with the announcement that An Post is launching a new retail bank with Belgian financial services company Fortis.

The new bank will employ 250 people to start with, rising to 500 within five years. 120 people currently working in An Post's two subsidiaries - One Direct and Postpoint - in Athlone will be employed by the new venture. A further 130 new jobs will be created, and will be split between Athlone and Dublin.

Richard Ryan of An Post told eFinancialCareers that the exact roles which will be created have yet to be decided.

Joe McGuinness of Fás says that "a lot of people will appreciate" the creation of these new vacancies. "In the midlands there are quite a lot of vacancies, but very often they are at entry level," he explains, adding that any employer offering better-paid vacancies higher up the skills chain would be "very welcome".

McGuinness says that "without a doubt" An Post's new venture would have no problem filling vacancies in Athlone, and said that Fás would find it quite easy to put together a panel of candidates with the necessary skills base.

People with college educations are working in jobs for which they are currently overqualified, McGuiness says, and are always looking out for better employment opportunities. Also, a large number of people now commuting from Athlone to Dublin would be very eager to find employment locally.