News 12 at 6 o'clock, July 1, 2010

AUGUSTA---Atlanta-based company Convergent will open a new customer care center in Augusta, creating 400 jobs.

"We think 400 is just the start for this company, and I would think they'd be going up to 500 at some point," said Walter Sprouse, the Executive Director of the Economic Development of Richmond County.

The customer service center will be located on Stevens Creek Road. It will be part of the Convergent ERS division, which is a large receivables management company that provides third-party collections and first-party outsourcing.

"We chose Augusta because of the diversified labor force, highly educated, available, and the (differentiation) is that southern charm," said Convergent's Casey Kostecka.

Georgia Quick Start will help Convergent ERS with training for their employees.

Convergent has 13 customer care centers, and this will be the second in Georgia.

Check the website below for more information about Convergent and to see its current job listings.

The Augusta Career Center will pre-screen applicants, but details for when they'll do it have not been finalized.

Two managerial and supervisory positions are available now on the company's website, but the hiring process for the rest of the entry-level positions won't begin for at least a couple of weeks.

There's no timetable for when the customer service center will be up and running.