May 2nd, 2005 saw the Gillette Group expanding its Call Centre business in the sister Isle of Tobago. In a ceremony to mark the launch attended by a host dignitaries from the Tobago House of Assembly, at the THA Technology Centre at Signal Hill in Tobago, Mr. Peter Gillette Chairman of the Gillette Group signed the Memorandum of Association with the THAs Chief Secretary, The Honourable, Mr. Orville London.

The Joint Venture Partnership draws on the resources of three of the Gillette Group ICT companies DirecOne, Voice Works and Computers and Controls and is for the management and establishment of a offshore call centre outsourcing company located at Signal Hill, Tobago. It is another example of the development and commercialisation of new technologies undertaken by the Gillette Group. The Gillette Group will be capitalizing on the existing medical transcription infrastructure and expanding it to include a full fully integrated inbound and outbound call centre facility, similar to its facilities in Trinidad.

Call Centre Director Mr. Damian Hares commenting on the joint venture, attributed the expansion in Tobago as a natural outcome of the increase in Call Centre business that has been coming into the DirecOne Group over the last three years. Trinidad and Tobago, he said, is clearly becoming an attractive proposition, as the near shore destination of choice for many of the Fortune 500 in the United States. About the Technology Centre itself he said, The Tobago Center represents a unique opportunity for us as an ICT Group to develop the intellectual capital of our nationals and thus prepare them for inclusion in areas outside of the fields of energy and tourism. We are proud to play a role as private sector nationals in this project, and hope that the Center will act as a catalyst to the development of ICT industries here in Tobago."

Population IT Readiness assessment

This Partnership will begin with an assessment of IT Readiness and will focus on gathering information as regards computer literacy skills in Tobago. This Partnership will create opportunities for the employment and training of Call Centre Agents. These agents will be trained to the highest standards in Customer Service and telemarketing skills and should they migrate from the Call Centre into other jobs they will benefit from being professionally trained in a first world environment.

Partnership Goals

Through this Partnership with the THA we have firmly fixed in our minds the milestones that we the THA and the Gillette Group need to accomplish. They are:

• The creation of new employment opportunities in Tobago

• To continue to deploy new knowledge based facilities throughout Trinidad and Tobago

• To increase the reservoir of ICT technologies in Tobago

• To increase the marketability of Tobago as a near shore/ call centre destination

• To establish Tobago as a key player in the Global Market

• To drive the implementation of state of the art IT infrastructure in Tobago

• Assist the THA in sharing knowledge and making communication amongst all sectors faster and more profound.

The Chairman, Mr. Peter Gillette in making this announcement said, There is a Tidal Wave of Offshore work to be had. It will be there for those that are best prepared. Trinidad has the opportunity to become a World Leader in this arena. What we in the Gillette Group have long recognized as a key component of the success of any business is right sourcing your outsourcing In the Tobago House of Assembly the Gillette ICT group feels that we have once again accomplished this objective. During the course of our negotiations we came to realize that we shared many common beliefs as it relates to the respective development paths that our nation must embark, if we are to take the next generation on a transformational step towards developed nation status and make Trinidad and Tobago the Intelligent Islands that we know they can become.

The vision of the Gillette Group is the continuous creation of employment for our Nation along the lines and models dictated by knowledge based economies. It is based on the appreciation that a Technology-literate and connected community will help Trinidad and Tobago build a leadership position in the Information economy.