Halifax bank has launched an IT recruitment drive to underpin a
three-year plan to double the number of people using its credit
cards.
The bank is currently on the look-out for Unix analysts, voice
analysts and project managers in a bid to increase the number of
Halifax credit card holders to three million by 2003.
The expansion plan follows Halifax's acquisition of
Cardiff-based credit card business Bank One in June. IT staff who
have been working at the former Bank One centre in Cardiff will
help integrate the IT systems of the two companies and develop a
new middleware platform for the call centre.
Halifax has so far recruited about three-quarters of the IT
specialists it needs to support the credit card push.
"We're particularly looking for people with specialist skills in
areas like voice response systems and people with Internet skills,"
said Nick Cobban, spokesman for Halifax card services.
IT staff will help set up a new Web facility so that customers
can apply for cards online.
Halifax also plans to bolster its market presence through
affinity cards, as part of an existing partnership with portal
giants Yahoo and Lycos. If successful, the cards, which will be
promoted through the portals' Web sites, will add to the bank's
need for IT systems support staff, said Cobban.
Java training costs
Halifax's card expansion: the IT overhaul
- IT staff will develop a middleware platform for the bank's call
centre - a central plank in its aggressive expansion plan
- Call centre IT staff will support automated call distribution
and response features
- The development of the bank's Internet site will need staff
with Unix skills or experience
- As part of plans to integrate the IT system's of Halifax and
former Bank One, IT staff will use technology from Nortel, Cisco,
Compaq and Hewlett-Packard
- The IT infrastructure will support Microsoft desktops and
Oracle database applications