Moncton – Despite the recent global economic crisis, Greater Moncton’s contact centre industry remains strong and poised to recover some of the jobs lost during the recession.

Enterprise Greater Moncton has released an update to a study titled "The Contact Centre Industry in Greater Moncton," originally released in 2006. The update was undertaken to evaluate the current position of Greater Moncton’s call centres, and shows that the industry has weathered the storm and continues to prosper.

"Although there has been some consolidation in the industry over the last three years, the contact centre industry continues to be one of the key contributors to the regional economy," said John Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Greater Moncton. "The investment and focus that our community has put on developing this industry and making it a priority demonstrates that it was a wise investment."

The industry accounts for approximately 10% of the region’s workforce, totalling over 7,230 employees, and the industry’s average hourly wage exceeds those of business, finance, clerical, and administrative occupations.

A number of recommendations were included in the study, namely working with industry and community colleges to meet the industry’s specific training needs, collaborating with internet providers on behalf of the industry to meet the needs of home-based agents, and monitoring the industry trends as to maintain the competitive advantages.

Since the initial study in 2006, most of the region’s contact centres made significant investments in technology to better position themselves globally. Many of our local firms now boast state of the art customer relationship management (CRM) software, Web self-help systems, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony systems.

"Contact centres are now firmly established as one of the highest driving economic forces in the Greater Moncton region," added Eric Pelletier, Manager of Investment Attraction & Community Relations for Enterprise Greater Moncton. "It is important that we continue to focus on advancing this industry in Greater Moncton as we cement our position as a global technological leader for contact centres."

Copies of the report can be downloaded here.

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Information:

Chad Peters,
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Office: (506) 858-9550, ext. 104