DUNFERMLINE was given some good news on the jobs front last week as Nationwide announced that around 80 new positions would be created in the town.

The building society is offering the new posts after the success of a trial for the Nationwide NOW service, which offers advice to customers all over the country through a high speed video link.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty welcomed the announcement and hailed the jobs boost as “incredibly good news”.

“This is a fantastic boost for West Fife and Nationwide’s continued investment in the local economy is a sign that Fife continues to be somewhere that is attractive to businesses looking to grow,” he said. “I have been in regular contact with the building society over the past year, supporting their restructuring which has allowed them to make this announcement.

“In the past few months Nationwide have brought more than a hundred new jobs to the local area and this is obviously incredibly good news. Ensuring that companies can provide a wide range of new job opportunities has been my number one priority over the past five years and without doubt the financial sector is a critical part of that mix.” Nationwide is now looking for people in Dunfermline who are skilled in customer service to be a part of the service and join the team at Caledonia House.

Mark Goldman, divisional director of central distribution at Nationwide Building Society, commented, “Nationwide NOW is going from strength to strength and as we roll it out to more branches we will be recruiting more people to meet the demand. At Nationwide we believe that a vital part of serving our members is providing access to our consultants and products in their community when it best suits them. Our investment in Nationwide NOW is a great example of how we’re using technology to achieve this.

“Nationwide NOW has been so well received we’ll be increasing the range of services meaning branches will be able to offer more to our customers. These are exciting times and we’re urging people who think they have what it takes to join us as we continue to focus on using digital to make customers’ lives easier and to increase access to our advisors.”