Bazaarvoice, a US software firm that provides customer review software, is set to create 168 new jobs as they open a new office in Belfast. “The new office will house 168 software engineering, sales and customer service staff to help service and grow the company’s UK and European business,” explained Invest NI CEO Alastair Hamilton. “Once fully operational, this will generate nearly £5.5m annually in salaries into the Northern Ireland economy. “The majority of the roles will be technical: software engineering, support and quality assurance; plus some sales roles,” continued Alastair. “As well as offering good salaries for experienced staff, the company is also setting up an Assured Skills training programme funded by the Department for the Economy that will help unemployed and under-employed non-IT graduates enter the ICT workforce. “We fought off stiff competition to secure this project for Northern Ireland. Not only is this great for our ICT sector but will provide excellent employment opportunities for unemployed, graduates and experienced staff.” Bazaarvoice services over 5,000 customer websites across the UK.