PITTSFIELD – ICT Group, a telemarketing firm with five locations in Maine, announced Friday it is hiring 100 new full- and part-time workers for its Pittsfield facility.

“This is excellent news,” said Pittsfield Town Manager Kathy Ruth on Friday morning. “We are always pleased when our local businesses are growing and thriving.”

ICT Group is headquartered in Langhorne, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia. The Pittsfield facility places telephone calls on behalf of Fortune 500 clients.

Recruiter Amber Norris said Friday that about 100 people currently work at the facility and that a previously tarnished image has blocked the company in its latest hiring efforts.

Norris said that installing new management, new supervisors and new recruiters are just part of the company’s commitment to building the Pittsfield site. She said that in the past, conditions at the facility were not conducive to attracting new workers and that employees who lounged around outside, shouting, smoking and creating a disturbance, gave the location a bad name.

“That type of behavior left a bad taste,” she said. “In our new recruiting efforts we are cutting back on the number of high school students we are hiring and are looking toward more professional people.

“Things are changing, we have new management and a new excitement,” said Norris.

To help make recruitment easier, ICT Group will set up a shuttle bus to bring workers to Pittsfield from Bangor, Skowhegan and Waterville. In addition, Norris said the company is seeking a state grant for child care subsidies.

Norris said jobs are available for all three shifts – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1 to 9 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m. Starting pay is $6.15 to 7.50 per hour, depending on which shift is worked, and the company offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Other ICT Group locations in Maine are Lewiston, Oxford Hills, Wilton and Calais.