It may be hard to believe now, but just over five years ago most of us had never heard of teleservices and call centres, let alone understood what they meant. By now we're all aware of the industry which uses centres located in Ireland to service customers all over Europe.

Today there are 50 call centres in Ireland, employing up to 6,000 people, according to IDA figures. The three main areas in teleservices are telesales, telemarketing and technical support. The major players in the industry in Ireland include computer manufacturers - IBM, Dell and Gateway, for example. Travel and tourism companies are also major players - American Airlines make all their European bookings in Ireland, while major hotel chains including Best Western, ITT Sheraton and Radisson all make their European reservations in Ireland.

Now a new area is developing in teleservices. An increasing number of companies are providing back office or shared services - that is back-up administrative functions on a panEuropean basis, the IDA says.

American Online is a company which works alongside Bertelsmann - Europe's largest publishing house. Its Irish facility provides Bertelsmann with subscription services and debt collection management.

Currently, Oxford Health Plans, a health insurance company, is recruiting personnel in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, to service the claims of its American customers. Eventually it expects to employ a staff of 500, according to the IDA.

All the signs are that the sector is set to have a positive future. The industry is creating between 600 and 1,000 new jobs each year and, by the end of the decade, the IDA anticipates that almost 10,000 people will be employed in the sector. Even if companies move to the Internet to sell, market and support their products, there will still be a need for call centres.

"Most people prefer to talk to other people," comments David Cornick, director of IBM's customer support centre in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin. "The Government, industry and the Department of Education and Science are working closely together to ensure continuity in the fast-growing teleservices industry in Ireland."

Last year the Government provided 600 places on PLC courses designed to supply the sector with its workforce. This year about 1,000 places will be on offer, all of which include a period abroad. With the right training everyone is guaranteed a job, says Cornick. Most companies, though, are looking for people with near native ability in a European language.

IBM, for example, expects its staff to have lived in the country they are working with for a year. "They need to understand the local culture and know if they are dealing with, as an example, France the effect that Bastille Day will have on business," Cornick explains.

A major concern about the industry is that its jobs are perceived as relatively dead end. Not true, says Cornick: "Within the IBM customer support centre, 20 per cent of people have already moved to the next technical level or have been promoted within their first year with the company."

In the early days teleservices companies concentrated on employing language graduates. Many of these found the jobs boring and left and the word went around that teleservices were not for graduates.

David Cornick doesn't accept this. But people do need to join companies which offer strong career paths. "We've taken in a lot of graduates," he says. "They come in as call-takers and, as vacancies occur, they become team leaders/supervisors looking after 12 to 20 people and then move onto management positions, where they could be responsible for up to 30 staff." Staff, too, can move into higher technical grades or go into training.