Two Announcements, 325 New Jobs In Central And NE Arkansas (UPDATED)

Two job announcements in two days will bring 325 new jobs and a former U.S. Vice-president to Arkansas.

On Tuesday (June 10), Arkansas economic officials will break ground in Osceola on a new e-waste recycling facility.

BlueOak Arkansas will focus on recycling metals from discarded circuit boards and other electronics. The project is expected to create 75 new jobs.

According to The Blytheville Courier, the invitation-only event will feature speeches by former Vice-president Al Gore, Gov. Mike Beebe and John Correnti, who is leading the Big River Steel superproject in the region. Correnti is executive chairman of BlueOak Resources.

Gore is a partner at existing BlueOak investor, Kleiner Perkins.

BlueOak is also teaming up with the Arkansas Teachers’ Retirement Fund, a consortium of European and domestic investors, and the Arkansas Development Finance Authority in the financing of the project, which is initially estimated at $35 million. New markets tax credit financing is also part of the deal.

Production in Arkansas is expected to begin by the end of 2015, initially processing 15 million lbs. of electronic scrap per year. BlueOak says it is optimistic that it will be able to expand rapidly.

In Sherwood, TeleTech Holdings, Inc. opened a new customer service center adding 250 jobs to central Arkansas.

The center will officially open its doors in July and is now hiring for a variety of jobs serving TeleTech’s clients in the healthcare industry.

TeleTech’s new center, located in the Wildwood Centre & Medical Tower, will represent “a nationally-recognized, public health insurance client, and therefore is seeking prospective job applicants with life and healthcare licenses,” it said.

“In our commitment to supporting employment growth in local communities throughout the U.S., we are delighted to work with the state of Arkansas to bring more jobs to its citizens,” said Kenneth Tuchman, chairman and CEO of TeleTech. “The Little Rock area holds great talent and expertise that will help us expand and improve upon the services to our clients.”

TeleTech is accepting applications for customer service representatives, team leaders, trainers, recruiters and IT specialists.