In the next three years, CGI will bring 150 jobs to Athens, many of which will be filled by students who currently walk the pathways of Ohio University.
The global technology consultant firm –– expected to open in the Stateside Technology Park, located on East State Street, in March –– is holding a job fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the Walter Hall Rotunda.
CGI’s Athens office will specialize in the construction of computer applications for the company’s clients, which range from financial firms to the U.S. government, said Carrie Archer, director of Business Development.
“Most of the focus down there will be in the application development phase, of all kinds,” Archer said. “A lot of clients don’t want to keep the apps to themselves so we’re looking for Athens to be an outsourcing operation.”
For this application-construction process, CGI is looking for applicants with specific skill sets, she said.
“We’re looking for people who can do development in Microsoft, .Net, and Java, so they will serve as application developers,” she said. “We also want business analysts to work with the developers to make the application.”
Though CGI will benefit from its Athens office, the extra jobs in the city will also help the local economy, said Sara Morris, executive director of the Athens County Development Council.
“The city will benefit from the taxes generated from the city,” Morris said. “From the data we have, the economic impact directly and indirectly will be about $9 million annually for the Athens county area.”
The presence of “high-end” jobs at CGI will benefit individuals in the community as well, Mayor Paul Wiehl said.
“The retail market here doesn’t really offer many high-end jobs, so this will be an opportunity for people to make some good pay,” Wiehl said, adding that he estimates the average salary of available positions to be $45,000 per year.
Morris said she thinks that many of these positions will be filled by OU graduates.
“(Athens) has a strategy of boomeranging, in that students go off to big cities and realize that they miss the atmosphere here and want to come back if positions are available,” Morris said. “We showed CGI that the labor pool was ready for them.”
sh335311@ohiou.edu
