Software firm set to create 500 city jobs

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond has welcomed Swiss software company Avaloq’s plans to create 500 jobs in Edinburgh over the next five years.

The plans for a new development centre in the city were revealed in the Evening News last month and the company yesterday began recruiting 75 graduates for an intensive six-month training programme.

Mr Salmond said the move was “terrific news” for new graduates in Edinburgh and across Scotland. He said: “This is a substantial number of training positions being created by a well-respected international software company, whose solutions are used by dozens of banks in more than 20 countries.”

The company said Scotland’s “wealth of potential graduate talent” and the quality of its university degrees were among the reasons behind the move.