Swiss software solutions company Avaloq is to recruit at least 75 Scottish graduates among the 500 new jobs to be created when it opens its new Edinburgh base.

The announcement was welcomed today by Alex Salmond, who met with senior representatives of the company as plans were officially unveiled for their new Scottish software development centre. The First Minister described the graduate jobs boost as good news for new graduates in Edinburgh and across Scotland.

The development centre – to be sited in Edinburgh city centre – is expected to employ 500 people in its first five years, with 20 staff to start before the end of this year alone.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: “I welcome Avaloq’s commitment to recruit 75 new graduates from Scottish universities which is terrific news for new graduates in Edinburgh and across Scotland. This is a substantial number of training positions being created by a well-respected international software company, whose solutions are used by dozens of banks in more than 20 countries worldwide.

“The plans they are announcing this morning for their Edinburgh software development centre will mean a total of 500 high-quality, highly-skilled new jobs. Private sector job creation is pivotal to Scotland’s economic growth and the most recent figures show employment increased in Scotland by 23,000 over the three months to July 2011, at a time when it fell by 69,000 across the UK as a whole."