Jobs, pay and quality of life give “Silicon Valley” the edge

CARDIFF, Wales and ATLANTA, GA (Nov. 11, 2014) – Tracesmart®, a LexisNexis® Risk Solutions company, has revealed the top reasons why IT professionals are increasingly choosing careers in Cardiff. The combination of job opportunity, salaries and quality of life is helping to drive growth in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in the Welsh Capital. ICT is a strong contributor to Welsh Gross Value Added (GVA) and is one of the fastest growing sectors in terms of productivity in Wales.

There are nearly 3,000 technology operations in Wales collectively employing around 25,000 peoplei. According to a recent report published by the Welsh Government, employment in the sector is forecast to grow at 1.37% per annum up to 2020, over twice as fast as the average employment growthii. Within Wales, it is currently one of the top 3 priority sectors with the highest average weekly earnings (£611), significantly above the figure for the whole economy (£539)iii.

Tracesmart, a company founded and headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, is creating 40 jobs by the end of the year, increasing the size of the company by over 50 percent. The new roles, based in Cardiff, include highly skilled IT developers and engineers, whom will be working closely on the integration of LexisNexis data, analytics and linking technologies with Tracesmart’s solutions. Tracesmart solutions will transition to the LexisNexis big data processing platform HPCC Systems, an open source platform used to solve large-scale, complex data and analytics challenges and one of the most advanced, fast-performing big data processing technologies available today.

In 2013, a study by Legal and General rated Cardiff as the best place in the UK for young people to live due to low cost of living, good wages and good opportunitiesiv,v.

Rhiannon Wilcox, Tracesmart Finance and Operations Director, said: “The economic strength of ICT in Wales is compelling and has attracted some of the world’s biggest technology companies, but it is only half of the story. ICT professionals are choosing Cardiff because of the quality of life offered here combined with a low-cost of living.”

Hiring will continue throughout 2015, as Tracesmart expects to add additional IT roles to respond to already high-volume customer demand. Tracesmart supplies essential information that helps customers across industries manage their various data requirements, including predicting, assessing and managing risk.

If you are an experienced IT professional interested in joining the dynamic Tracesmart team, contact us today athttp://www.tracesmart.co.uk/about-us/careers.

About Tracesmart
Tracesmart is a leading provider of consumer intelligence services, based in Cardiff, Wales. Specialists in the provision of online tracing and identity verification solutions, Tracesmart is prominent in the financial services, life and pension, collections and insurance sectors. Its fraud prevention and anti-money laundering solutions are employed by a growing legion of businesses ranging from SME to FTSE 100 listed companies.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis Risk Solutions (http://www.lexisnexis.com/risk/uk) is a leader in providing essential information that helps customers across industries and government predict, assess and manage risk. Combining cutting-edge technology, unique data and advanced analytics, LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides products and services that address evolving client needs in the risk sector while upholding the highest standards of security and privacy. LexisNexis Risk Solutions is part of Reed Elsevier, a world leading provider of professional information solutions.

About Reed Elsevier 
Reed Elsevier Group plc is a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs approximately 28,000 people of whom half are in North America. Reed Elsevier Group PLC is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV; the combined market capitalisation of the two parent companies is approximately £19bn/€23bn. Its shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.
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Media contacts:
Jean Creech Avent
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Corporate Communications, Media & Analyst Relations
770-807-4816

Paul Codd
Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Paul.codd@cohnwolfe.com
+44 (0) 207 331 5366
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http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/english/business/business_sectors/in…
ii http://justask.wales.com/sites/default/files/FDI%20ICT%20brochure.pdf
iii http://wales.gov.uk/docs/det/publications/140930icten.pdf
iv Legal and General Best City to be Young report
v Moneysupermarket Quality of Living Index 2014