Call centre projects on the rise

Call centre projects rose by one-third last year but job creation in the industry dropped considerably as the market matured.

In its fourth annual survey into the call centre industry in the UK and Ireland, professional services firm Deloitte & Touche found that during 2001 projects had risen by a massive 33 per cent from 2000.

However, jobs in the area fell by 21 per cent from 2000 as the field levelled out, according to the head of the study Alistair Davies.

Davies, a director at Deloitte & Touche, said: "The rise in projects coupled with the dip in jobs created indicates that the call centre industry in the UK and Ireland is maturing."

Project sizes also dropped - by 40 per cent - from an average job creation number per project in 2000 of 396, to 236 jobs per project in 2001.