UK Struggles to Hold Onto Call Centers

A £2.5m scheme to stem the flow of call center jobs from Merseyside to India was launched yesterday. The Government's regional economic agency, the Northwest Development Agency, is investing the cash in a three-year initiative to raise the profile of the call center industry and retain jobs in the region.

Merseyside is a major hub for call centers, employing more than 13,000 people in about 60 across the region. However, over recent years thousands of jobs have been lost from Merseyside and the North West through companies switching call centers to India and other developing countries.

This is even more proof why the economic development business model must shift to one embodying a globally-networked approach to developing places.

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