Dublin call center to add 560 full-time jobs with benefits (Ohio)

The Columbus Dispatch ^ | February 14, 2017 | Tim Feran

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HKT Teleservices plans to hire 560 people by Aug. 1 to work at its call center in Dublin, a result of "significant growth from an existing contract," said Dave Shapiro, president of the U.S. branch of the Hong Kong-based telecommunications company.

That's more than twice the 230 that the company employs there.

HKT has been in central Ohio for almost 15 years, but "the last two years, we've really had a growth spurt," Shapiro said.

In 2015, for example, the company — then known as PCCW Teleservices — moved to a 52,000-square-foot space at 5200 Rings Road in Dublin from a nearby location and hired 175 employees.

This expansion is primarily to service a large hospitality firm that HKT would not name.

Some of the new employees will be able to work remotely, and that's a good thing, said economist Bill LaFayette, owner of Regionomics, a Columbus consulting firm.

"They're jobs that people with moderate skill levels can take," and an opportunity for folks who live in areas of the state with higher jobless rates than central Ohio, LaFayette said. "From that standpoint, it's a really good thing."(continued)