Expleo to expand its Belfast operations and create 100 new jobs

In the next two years, the French IT company Expleo will double the headcount at its Belfast office. They announced a new season of recruitments to fill in positions in AI, robotics, quality engineering, project management and business agility. The Irish capital is an attractive place for high-tech people. If they are in search of entertainment, there are daily free spins with no deposit easily accessible to everyone. Finding quality jobs in the expanded IT sector is easy too,  since Belfast is becoming an increasingly appealing location for innovative business.

The management of the Expleo Group is well aware of the potential of their Northern Ireland operations. Director Rob McConnell explains that the country has “a rich pool of talent” where they expect to find high-value human resources. “We look forward to scaling our team and broadening our services portfolio to accommodate the evolving needs of local and international clients. As the digital transformation agenda takes precedence at boardroom level, Expleo’s protracted phase of development in Northern Ireland looks set to accelerate.”

There is some rock-solid evidence proving that this strategic move is no wishful thinking. Expleo has seen a 125% growth in its Northern Ireland revenue between 2017 and 2020. They started with a staff of 70 that has by now grown to 100. The company’s headquarters are located in France. The service it offers customers includes project management, business analysis and digital transformation services, and software quality assurance and development, including full-stack and low-code services. They expect not only to continue with this positive trend but to speed up the process considerably. “As the digital transformation agenda takes precedence at boardroom level, Expleo’s protracted phase of development in Northern Ireland looks set to accelerate,” is McConnell’s estimate.

Expleo Ireland has also appointed a new a new client director for the company’s life sciences, healthcare and manufacturing division. The position has been filled by Cathal Murphy, who will head the digital transformation strategies for Expleo’s growing client portfolio. Several companies in various industries, including financial services, aerospace and automotive, rely on Expleo as a technology partner. In 2020 the tech company played a crucial role in testing the Covid Tracker Ireland app. A careful evaluation was necessary before the system was launched and made available online. Expleo was also given the task of testing the Northern Ireland contact-tracing app, StopCovid NI.

Their strategic choice of investing heavily in doubling its Belfast staff is nothing surprising. Already in 2018, 26% of Belfast’s workforce was employed in tech. According to UK Tech Nation, Belfast is the first of three tech hubs (followed by Dundee and Exter) to watch in 2021. Their Scale Ratios indicate that these cities have the highest growth potential, i.e. the highest proportion of seed-stage companies in comparison to any other in the UK. Booming business sectors in Belfast include fintech, agritech, hospitality tech, emerging tech, cybersecurity, SaaS and medtech. The high rating of Queen’s University and low living costs are further attractive factors. Gentrification is starting to happen, as clear proof that Norther Ireland’s capital future looks bright.