-
IBM's supercomputer to give instant medical diagnoses. - Source: ABC
IBM hopes to create about 400 jobs within two years at a "delivery centre" it will set up in partnership with tertiary provider Unitec in Auckland next year.
It is understood the work the centre will carry out will depend on what contracts IBM New Zealand wins, but is likely to include providing helpdesk support to clients and developing software.
IBM's New Zealand subsidiary is believed to employ more than 1000 staff at present.
IBM said in a statement that the centre would open in February and would employ full-time and part-time staff, including Unitec graduates and current students.
"IBM anticipates that the delivery centre will employ up to 400 people within the next two years," the company said.
The centre will be modelled on similar lines to its Ballarat Delivery Centre which opened in Victoria, Australia in 2005 and is one of 50 such centres IBM has set up around the world.
The Ballarat centre, spread across three buildings, employs about 1000 people providing helpdesk and software development services. It developed the software that was used to run Australia's 2006 and 2011 censuses.
Unitec chief executive Rick Ede said working with a "highly respected global company" would give its students the head start they needed to get great jobs when they graduated.
IBM said the move added to its "long history of collaborating with the tertiary sector to develop graduates with the right skills to work in today's services-oriented economy".