Coming back from a weekend it is heartening to learn of some jobs injection into Waterford from an American company.
We have been focusing much of our attention on tourism for the city’s future.
Tourism is seasonal and festivals bring in much needed visitors, but a balance in a local economy is needed.
Waterford has felt somewhat ignored by the IDA with very few job announcements for this area, compared to Cork and Galway.
It seems that the National University cities are doing well but the other two major regional centres Waterford and Limerick are left nursing industrial closures, where we have had the Glass and Dell effects.
The new jobs announcement will boost morale in the city and show that Waterford has not gone off the IDA radar.
Perhaps we can build on this announcement as the Mycroft office centre will enrich the labour force in Waterford.
Waterford Institute of Technology must be satisfied with the announcement also.
Waterford needs to have some good stories to tell like the recent Bausch and Lomb to counteract the closures that have occurred of recent years.
Now that the tourism plan is on track with the Viking Quarter is it time to re assess how Waterford can attract more international investment in the coming years and boost jobs.
The City Manager and his team have done great work in re-orienting the city towards tourism and having top class attractions.
A re-engagement with the IDA and an encouragement to get them more involved here must be a priority.
The Tall Ships festival will raise the Waterford profile so let us use it to build upon this potential.
The new American company will have its offices down in Maratana Gate a new modern purpose built office block near the Park, overlooking the Johns River or Pill, close to the city centre which is a positive thing.
They will be a business that is operating in the cloud computer world.
This is where large amounts of computer data are stored in a remote site, Microsoft have a massive one in Kildare that can not just service Ireland but parts of Europe.
Waterford getting a firm is this business is a boost for the future. Paul Rellis boss of Microsoft in Ireland has strong Waterford connections although raised in Limerick.
A Waterford lift into this high technology world is a morale boost for the future, as Mayor Mary Roche pointed out this week. Dell are similarly doing a high tech. cloud expansion of 100 plus jobs making for some of the closure problems of their manufacturing division there.
A database of Waterford high tech skills should be organised and promoted to attract more business in the future.
