Today, Governor Susana Martinez announced that Sitel, a leading global customer care provider, will add more than 100 jobs at its Las Cruces facility. The company has operated in Las Cruces since 2007 and is expanding in part due to support provided through New Mexico’s Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP).
“It is important to have a strong and diverse private sector, and that is why we continue to foster an environment that encourages job creators, like Sitel, to hire and train new workers in New Mexico,” Governor Martinez said. “Programs like JTIP play a vital role in helping us level the playing field and make New Mexico more competitive. That’s why we’ve fought so hard to make the program permanent and continue to support the program with funding that encourages companies to hire more New Mexicans.”
The Fiscal Year 2016 state budget that Governor Martinez signed into law provided an additional $7.5 million for JTIP, a successful program that helps growing business hire more workers by covering the cost of training for new employees. Governor Martinez has also taken steps to make JTIP a permanent part of New Mexico’s budget. In the past, the program had only been funded intermittently. Sitel will receive $58,000 from the Economic Development Department’s Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP). New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela and Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) were both instrumental in facilitating the JTIP award and joined Gov. Martinez for the announcement.
“We appreciate Governor Martinez’s continuing leadership and support,” said Jerry Kinnick currently, CFO for Sitel North America. “With a strong reputation as an employer-of-choice in Las Cruces, Sitel is proud to be one of the most vibrant employers in the community. JTIP will help Sitel continue to drive economic growth and maintain world-class training programs.”
Today’s announcement comes a few weeks after the U.S Department of Commerce ranked three New Mexico cities among the top five U.S. metro areas for export growth. This included the city of Las Cruces, which ranked No. 1 in the country. Earlier in the year, the Department of Commerce announced that New Mexico leads the nation in export-related job growth at 107 percent for 2014, well ahead of the next-closest state. And recently, New Mexico made a big leap in CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Businesses” rankings, jumping from 37th to 24th in the country. The improvement is tied for the best in the nation.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to create a competitive business environment and we are seeing our efforts to reduce taxes and increase incentives like JTIP pay off,” Secretary Barela said. “Businesses have choices in where they locate jobs and expansions like Sitel’s continue the growth of our economy and creates new opportunity for our workforce.”
Sitel has 110 centers in 23 countries across North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific. The company has a longstanding reputation for exceptional training and ongoing professional development. Sitel currently has more than 100 job openings for Las Cruces-area residents. The company provides a competitive compensation and benefits packages. Candidates can apply online in the “Careers” section at www.sitel.com.
Courtesy of the New Mexico Economic Development Department; posted 7/31/15
