CALL centre operator Garlands last night announced the creation of 150 jobs across the Tees Valley as it opened the next phase of its new development.

Garlands opened the second building at its contact centre "village" yesterday, on the Preston Farm Industrial estate, in Stockton.

The three-storey building will primarily be used as a conference and training centre, as well as housing a caf and recreation area for all the company's employees at the centre.

Once the call centre village is complete, up to 1,000 people are expected to work there.

Garlands, which employs nearly 3,000 people, also said yesterday that it was creating another 150 full and part-time jobs at its sites at Hartlepool Marina, Middlesbrough town centre and Stockton.

The company is looking for customer service advisors, team managers and technical support advisors, but also has vacancies in management and training roles.

Chey Garland, the chief executive of the company, said: "It is with enormous pleasure that we announce this expansion at both our Middlesbrough and Hartlepool operations, and the opening of the second phase of our Preston Farm development."

Garlands owns five contact centres - three at Hartlepool Marina, one in Middlesbrough town centre and the new development in Stockton.

Last year, Garlands said a large contract win with a mobile phone operator would create a further 200 jobs at its Stockton site.

It opened the first phase of its call centre village in September, creating 120 jobs.

Garlands' announcement came as a report showed more than 50,000 jobs were created in call centres last year, shrugging off fears recruitment would be hit because of work being outsourced abroad.

Analysts ContactBabel revealed the industry remained on course to employ a million workers by the end of 2007.

The report showed that call centres were of most importance to the North-East, accounting for five per cent of all jobs.

The industry across the UK is worth £17bn to the economy, and the report showed it would grow steadily over the next five years.

Yorkshire has more than four per cent of all jobs in the contact centre sector.