PITTSFIELD – The sad fact that Somerset County and Greater Pittsfield have a high level of unemployed and underemployed people turned out to be an attractive quality to a Virginia telemarketing firm.

So attractive that Pittsfield is a finalist with three other communities – the only one in Maine – as the spot to locate a new call center and bring 200 jobs to the area.

Bob Lynch, director of expansion for Global Contact Services, admitted Tuesday that the company is on “a fishing expedition, a very serious one.” Lynch said GCS would be “ready to make a decision today, but we are going to make due diligence and assess the work force.”

GCS is looking to locate at the former ICT call center location in Somerset Plaza. It would establish a 100-seat, double-shift call center. When ICT closed its doors in 2003, more than 100 trained workers lost their jobs. GCS is betting that a lot of those trained workers, who now commute to Bangor, Waterville or Augusta for work, will be willing to return to Pittsfield.

GCS has been working with local and state officials for almost a year. The company employs 1,500 people at 11 locations, some in Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Ohio. The company’s Web site claims it makes 2 million telephone contacts a month, working for credit card companies, insurance companies and political campaigns and surveys. It is one of the top five providers of direct insurance programs in the nation.

With the company’s greatest focus in the area of insurance, Pittsfield was attractive because there are several insurance agencies already in the area, company officials said.

Town officials are confident that the area has an already-trained, willing and able work force to meet GCS needs. A job fair has been scheduled for 2-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the town offices for job applicants.

“Last year, the company opened a new contact center in West Virginia with 220 jobs,” Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said Tuesday. “The economic impact on that community and the surrounding communities was estimated at over $100 million over the next five years. Two hundred jobs with competitive wages and benefits would be a real boon for the state of Maine and the region. In addition, 200 jobs would mean that more people will be in the community purchasing food, gas, using the gym, eating lunch or dinner, and shopping.”

The decision about whether the company will come to Pittsfield rests completely on the work force, company officials said Tuesday in a conference call from Virginia.

GCS President Greg Alcorn said his company had researched many locations since January 2007 and settled on Pittsfield as a finalist because of the previously trained work force.

He said key factors included the quality of the labor force, the abilities of a management team, the facilities, and government and community support.

Bob Lynch, director of expansion at GCS, said that when the company decides to open a center, it’s in it for the long haul. “We’ve never closed a center. We are not talking a three- to six-month process,” he said. “We provide long-term, substantial employment and a commitment to the community. When we come to town, it is for decades, not years.” A final decision should be made by the end of January, Lynch said.

Company officials suggested that interested workers could get a jump on the process by applying through the company’s Web site, www.gcsagents.com. “A team will evaluate the applications and contact those applying before the job fair is held,” Lynch said.

bdnpittsfield@verizon.net

487-3187

Job fair

A Global Contact Services job fair has been scheduled for 2-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the Pittsfield Municipal Building on Somerset Avenue. Applicants also may apply for jobs at the company Web site, www.www.gcsagents.com.