Former school enters era of high-tech with 150 new jobs

The creation of 150 new city centre jobs has been welcomed – the high-tech positions will be located in the old Piscatorial School at Claddagh Quay.

The jobs are being created by a US-based company that rents women’s clothing and accessories – Galway marks its first operation outside of the States.

The new jobs at Rent the Runway, a privately-owned company with 1,800 employees on America’s East Coast, are due to be created over the next three years.

Rent the Runway plans to hire 150 engineers and tech developers and the company says its Galway team will tackle core technology challenges that are critical to the company’s overall success and will “influence the future of the next generation of services”.

The project is being supported by the Government through IDA Ireland whose Chief Executive Martin Shanahan said that Galway City, with its vibrant and growing technology ecosystem, was proving a most attractive location for investment.

The jobs will be located at the renovated Piscatorial School which is owned by cityman Michael Gibbons.

Mr Gibbons said that works on the renovation of the building were nearing completion and he described it as a beautiful property that had been restored to Grade A office space.

He described it as great news for Galway that it will now be occupied by a company which is opening its first international office in this city – favouring it ahead of Dublin and Cork.

Rent the Runway was founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss “as an answer to the modern woman’s desire for constant newness by offering a rotating wardrobe”.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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