150 new jobs as company to invest €750,000 in upgraded Kilkenny headquarters

Gaeltec Utilities, a leading utility contracting company has announced the creation of 150 new jobs as a result of securing significant contracts in the utilities sector.

Gaeltec provides specialist contracting support to public and private companies rolling out or upgrading energy and telecoms infrastructure and networks across Ireland. The company is currently working on several strategic electricity transmission, distribution and fibre broadband projects. These include working with SIRO, the joint venture between ESB and Vodafone, on the roll-out of the next phase of its fibre broadband network across Ireland.

Overall, 60 of the 150 new roles will support this project, which will see SIRO’s fibre broadband network reach 154 towns across Ireland and provide Gigabit broadband connectivity to 770,000 premises within the next four years.

Welcoming today’s announcement Deputy John McGuiness said, “this is fantastic news for Kilkenny and Im delighted to welcome it as the majority of these new jobs will be in Kilkenny, with some spread across the country. Its also very positive to see a company like Gaeltec expand at such a scale and delivering on projects that benefit all of us such as the upgrade of fibre broadband.

“This is great news from Gaeltec, creating 150 new jobs, mainly in Kilkenny with some opportunities nationwide," said Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar.

"It’s a real boost in our capacity to build important infrastructure, such as broadband. 60 of these jobs will be on SIRO’s new project, upgrading thousands of their customers across the country to fibre broadband. Congratulations to the entire team and the very best of luck with this really significant expansion”.

Announcing the new roles, Gaeltec Managing Director, Joao Felizardo commented: “Today’s jobs announcement is a significant milestone for Gaeltec. Our expansion is a mark of the reputation we have built in the Irish utilities market, and the confidence our customers place in our high standard of work and consistent track-record of delivery. To facilitate the growth, Gaeltec is making a €0.75m investment in further development of its Headquarters in Kilkenny. We are really excited about having 150 more people, who share our values and ambition, join us during the next exciting stage of Gaeltec’s development”, added Mr. Felizardo.

SIRO CEO John Keaney added: “Fibre-to-the Home broadband is recognised as the gold standard internationally and our rollout to 770,000 premises is one of the most significant capital investment projects in Ireland. Our partnership with Gaeltec is a key part of our network build programme and the 60 new jobs at Gaeltec are a direct result of the massive shift in scale in our rollout. Gaeltec has a proven track record for delivering complex fast track projects successfully to exceptionally high standards, so they were a natural choice for us to bring on board.”

Mayor of Kilkenny, Andrew McGuinness said, “this is another great day for Kilkenny with the creation of so many new jobs locally. I want to than and congratulate Gaeltec and look forward to seeing that company and its beneficial projects progress in a positive way.

The roles on offer at Gaeltec include junior and senior engineering positions, field surveyors, fibre technicians, GIS technicians, supervisors, designers, electricians and plant operators. The positions will be based primarily in Gaeltec’s Kilkenny and Dublin offices, but a number, such as site staff will be based on projects located nationwide. Further information on all the roles is available on the careers section of Gaeltec’s website, Gaeltecutilities.com or on its LinkedIn page.