Computer Sciences Corporation
| Name: | Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) |
| Home base: | USA |
| Core business: | Provides large-scale IT services to public and private sector markets |
| Sector: | IT Services - outsourcing/consulting/systems integration |
| Nature of investment: | New regional operations centre |
| Location: | Knowsley, Merseyside |
| Date: | Opened in August 2004 |
| Size of investment: | Not disclosed |
| No. of jobs: | 400+ |
| Key factors: |
• Large pool of suitably skilled laboure
|
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) is a global leader in information technology (IT) services to commercial and government markets. With a turnover of US$14.8 billion, it employs around 80,000 people in 80 locations across six continents.
In August 2004, CSC opened a new 32,000 sq ft regional centre in Knowsley, Merseyside.
The investment came on the back of a huge NHS contract the company won in December 2003 to upgrade the NHS patient care records system for the Northwest and West Midlands. The 10-year contract is part of the world's largest civil IT project, worth £1.2 billion.
Given the geographical scope of the project, the company decided to manage it from two sites, one in the Midlands, where it had already identified suitable premises, and one in the Northwest.
"We needed to move very quickly. We had to find premises that were readily available, where we could build a large team from scratch, and that were suitable for this type of project and the type of company we are," says Keith Wilman, CSC's UK President and CEO.
The company's US-based corporate facilities team undertook some preliminary research and made contact with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).
The NWDA worked with CSC to establish its precise requirements. It brought in sub-regional partners, including The Mersey Partnership (TMP) and Knowsley MBC, to help identify potential sites and present a business case for the Northwest - and Merseyside in particular - as the best location for the project.
IT services is already a strong growth sector on Merseyside, with over 600 companies employing around 6,100 people and contributing nearly £2 billion to the local economy. In addition, Liverpool was named IT and Telecommunications Capital of Europe by Foreign Direct Investment magazine in 2004/2005.
The NWDA, TMP and Knowsley MBC identified Kings Business Park as a location which met all CSC's needs. It had a modern, hi-tech building which was available immediately. Equally importantly, it was close to major road routes, giving easy access to the whole of the Northwest region.
"We have quite a mobile workforce on the NHS account because it involves a lot of visits to the client's sites, of which there are 130 in the Northwest, so the physical accessibility of the site was key," explains Wilman.
Knowsley's Objective One status also meant that local agencies were able to capitalise on existing financial assistance programmes to support CSC's investment.
The third benefit of Knowsley was the availability of labour, 90% of which would be recruited locally. It is ideally located to tap into the thousands of information and communications technology (ICT) graduates leaving the region's colleges and universities every year.
Several local education providers, including Liverpool John Moore's university and Liverpool Hope university, were brought in to discuss the profiles of their ICT graduates and the CSC's specific recruitment needs. In addition, sub-regional partners such as Liverpool Digital and Digital Northwest explained their role and the sector-specific support services they could offer.
"The level of service and assistance we received from regional and local agencies, not just financial, but also in terms of finding premises, accessing training and recruitment support, was excellent," says Wilman.
CSC initially envisaged creating 100 jobs in Knowsley to service the NHS contract. However, such was the success of the investment that when it won a further £196 million NHS contract in September 2004, it was decided to base that team in Knowsley, too.
Today, around 400 people are employed by CSC on the site. It is currently bidding for further contracts which could see that figure eventually grow to up to 1500 people.
"The Knowsley site is an outstanding facility, centrally based within our project region, with access to an excellent skills base. We were particularly impressed by the professionalism and breadth of support offered by the local agencies to help make the investment a success," says Wilman.
"Knowsley is really working for us. It is a great facility, a large, modern building close to the regional infrastructure. We've been able to attract - and retain - first class recruits from the local area."
"We got some extremely good pricing on the accommodation, some financial assistance from Knowsley Borough Council and we were able to tap into existing financial support for recruitment and training. It all helped make the investment such a success."
"The local agencies listened to what we needed and put together a very compelling case. They moved very quickly and involved all the relevant local partners. We were incredibly impressed with their speed of engagement."
