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Scotland is set to benefit from a Barclays Wealth back-office bonanza as the firm looks to commit 1,600 jobs to the region.

No sooner do we question the security of back-office jobs in Scotland than a big bank goes and increases its presence in the country.

So far this year Barclays Wealth has taken on 145 staff in its Glasgow office, which focuses on HR, finance, technology, risk and operations. It’s now aiming to pull in another 90 by the end of this year and a total of 500 new recruits by 2009. It already employs 1,100 in Scotland’s biggest city.

The firm has pledged to invest £125m a year over three years in people and infrastructure, and opened up the Glasgow office in 2006.

Barclays Wealth’s COO, Frank McGarahan, emphasised the importance of attracting staff across a range of levels and functions, and says: “Significant opportunities for current and future staff are being created.”

The new office comes at the expense of Barclays Wealth’s Peterborough office, after a deal with Bank of New York Mellon to consolidate its outsourcing operations in Glasgow. Peterborough staff are rumoured to have been offered a transfer, but given the skills shortage in Scotland the firm will struggle to fill the remaining positions.

Meanwhile golden hellos are on the back and middle-office recruitment agenda for some banks, and organisations are generally having to be more flexible with their demands for skills and experience.

Paul Aldred, manager Morgan McKinley Edinburgh says, "Some businesses are adopting a proactive approach to the skills shortage by attracting the best talent with starting bonuses."

Aldred also says the skills shortage means employees are able to cherry-pick the best roles and climb the career ladder more quickly as a result.

Barclays Wealth doesn’t appear to have struggled to fill key positions so far. Conspicuous recent hires include Jacinta Stewart as head of HR in Glasgow; Pauline Tierney poached from State Street as head of corporate actions; and Fiona Elbourne moving over from Morgan Stanley to head the Glasgow investment operations division.