The calls primarily come from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
For Cheryl Zarski, who started working at Dell's Edmonton call centre last November and handles Canadian technical support, landing a job with a multinational corporation provided her with the job security she was seeking.
"There is a lot of opportunity here. I've worked for other large companies in the past and it's more rewarding," says Zarski.
"There are a lot of chances to move up and to be recognized. I think that is something Dell focuses on."
Zarski, who brought computer experience to her position at Dell, says it took a while for her application to be processed as a month went by without her hearing anything.
Before being hired, prospective candidates who have completed the qualifications and interview process and are given a conditional letter of employment by Dell are also required to take a three- to four-week training program delivered by NAIT.
So far, more than 3,000 people have shown interest in becoming part of Dell's Edmonton call centre, NAIT officials say.
That number has allowed NAIT, the province's third-largest post-secondary institute, to provide Dell with a high number of qualified applicants for the positions in customer care and technical support, they add.
"Generally a good technical background or an IT certificate is needed, but not having a high IT background won't rule you out, as good customer service skills are also valued," says Jeffrey Sundquist, dean of international and continuing education business development at NAIT.
The Edmonton call centre operates from the early morning hours - Zarski's current shift starts at 6 a.m. - and runs throughout the day. She says callers are pleasantly surprised to find they're not being transferred to a call centre in India.
"They're very happy Edmonton is part of the solution. They go, 'Oh wow, I can't believe I reached someone in Canada, someone I can understand, who can give me good tech support.' "
