CGI's Borders job creation well behind schedule

by LESTER CROSS

It was a £92 million deal which promised a state-of-the-art technological "centre of excellence" and 200 new quality jobs for the Scottish Borders in three years when it was signed back in 2016.

But new figures obtained by Not Just Sheep & Rugby show this crucial element of that 13-year contract  which resulted in Scottish Borders Council outsourcing its IT services to the giant CGI corporation remains to be fully delivered five years later.

In fact, by October 2019 CGI had only created 71 'new' posts in support of the Borders council contract, and that included the 46 local authority staff members who were transferred over as part of the deal. And the delivery centre development had not even started.

There was widespread surprise within the world of technology when the council announced last October it was extending the arrangements with CGI until 2040 without exposing the work to competitive tender, adding £99 million to the value of the massive deal.

It was revealed via Freedom of Information that the extended contract committed the council to finding £34 million over a fairly short period to fund 'transformational investment'.

When the partnership was formed five years ago the Borders public was told it would mean, among other things: "The creation of a delivery centre within the Borders, with 200 new jobs within three years – a potential gross value added of £107.1 million."

In an effort to see how the jobs and investment programme was progressing we submitted a number of questions to CGI as it seemed clear the three-year target had not been met.

Here is the full list of questions and responses received from CGI:

[1] How many new jobs did CGI create in the Borders by 2019?

 

As at October 2019, CGI had created 71 full time jobs supporting the Scottish Borders Council-CGI contract.

 

[2] Why was the delivery centre not ‘delivered’ within the announced timescale?

 

The Council confirmed in 2019 it was proposing to build a new office for CGI in nearby Tweedbank, with 152 seats, to open in 2021. The building is currently in progress and the build has been hampered by the Covid pandemic. It is now expected to be accessible by December 2021.

 

[3] How many new jobs has CGI created in the Borders to date?

 

CGI has currently created 103 jobs within the Borders. This includes nine Borders based graduates who have accepted offers to begin their careers with CGI in August of this year. CGI also currently has open recruitment positions for 23 service desk members who will be based at Tweedbank once in place.

Additionally CGI plan to open a test automation centre in the Tweedbank Office. Recruitment is underway for members who will work in the test automation centre and we are aiming to recruit apprentices, graduates and people who are new to or returning to work or changing employers.

We aim to run many UK accounts’ test work from Tweedbank meaning demand for test roles will increase.

 

[4] the delivery centre has yet to open, and a building is currently under construction by Scottish Borders Council for CGI at Tweedbank, near Galashiels.  When will that project complete; when do CGI plan to move in; and how many people will be working there at the outset?

 

The completion of the Tweedbank building has been delayed due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. The building is now on target to be handed over to CGI in late August. The building will then be fitted out by CGI with a target of December 2021 to move into the Tweedbank building.

There will be 103 employees transferring over alongside any additional recruitment made between now and then.

In a follow-up question seeking clarification, we asked: "Did the 71 full time jobs referred to in [1] include the 46 council staff who were transferred to CGI after the 2016 agreement was signed?"

In reply, CGI stated: "The number of TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) staff from the Council was 46 at the time the service transferred to CGI and these job are retained within the 71 detailed in point 1. The contract between CGI and the Council recognised that the staff would transfer and be included on the job numbers. CGI continues to actively recruit within the Scottish Borders region as described in our other responses."