'What swung it was the ability to have a good work life balance' - Laois welcomes Canada jobs
The new European home chosen by a Canadian tech company is in a Laois enterprise hub that was forged through positive community spirit.
BloomHQ in Mountrath is now a buzzing innovation and community centre in what was once a vacant convent school, gifted to the community by the Brigidine Sisters.
BloomHQ and the town itself have a warm welcome for N'Ware, the Canada company who has chosen Mountrath to launch their European, Middle East and African expansion.
“In conjunction with the IDA they were looking at various locations in Laois and we are delighted that they chose BloomHQ. What swung it was our central location, the story of our project, our facilities on site, and the ability to have a good work life balance.
"As well as our enterprise hub, we have community groups and the gym so after work they can go do a workout, join a men's shed or biker club, go for a walk in the mountains within minutes. Our gigabit of broadband is a huge plus too and our potential for growth. We have 7,500 sqft here so as they grow we can grow too. There is space for them to stay permanently," the manager said.
BloomHQ is in constant contact with more companies with another tech company about to make a second announcement in coming weeks.
“We have a good mix of businesses, there’s marketing consultants, insurance, someone selling office furniture, a coffee business, self employed tech workers, healthcare, remote workers, a Laois aviation startup company, and hopefully more in the near future. Most are essential services so they kept going during Covid. We also get bookings from industries who need to book a desk if they have a meeting in the midlands.
“We have linked with Carlow IT and are going to run rural enterprise programmes and we have a group of retirees here on a digital skills course.
“The last year during covid has been fantastic for us. It’s the eco system we have here, you don’t have to hop in your car, and we are near airports, motorways, in a really nice community of people,” the BloomHQ manager said.
“It is brilliant for the town. Bloom is a lovely place to work and I hope there will be local jobs, but if people are working locally they will spend locally so it’s good for everybody. They’ll be looking for somewhere to eat, somewhere to buy diesel. I look forward to them coming in and buying a coffee from us. We actually buy it from our local coffee man Gary who is in BloomHQ along with other local businesses.
“It’s great publicity for Mountrath. We can offer a lot of things here, we’re in the centre of Ireland, beside the motorway, the new cycle track in the mountains, we have a golf club, a good scouts club, the cottage market, the camera club, it’s all on the up. It’s time to look to the future now, Mountrath is as good a place to be as any.
“This is all brought about by Mountrath Community Forum who formed back in 2016 and have worked hard since to bring jobs back to the town so a big thanks to them,” he said.
Gina Reidy is co-chair of another new innovative group developing Mountrath, the new Reimagine Mountrath project.
"It’s a fantastic opportunity for the town. There is great work being done at the moment with the development of a Town plan which will help rejuvenate and enhance Mountrath. It’s exciting that Canadian tech company N'Ware are launching their European HQ with the creation of 25 new roles. We look forward to having Mark and the team work in Mountrath," she said.