STAFF at Shop Direct’s doomed Crosby call centre have been targeted by an American firm looking to recruit 300 home-based workers.

Arise Virtual Solutions is expanding in the UK through its model of contracting out work to self-employed call centre staff based from home, dubbed “homeshoring”, compared with firms who offshore call centre work to cheaper markets like India.

It says it needs 1,000 recruits this year, including 300 in the North West.

Online and catalogue retailer Shop Direct, the former Littlewoods business, announced in January plans to close its Crosby call centre by the end of April with the loss of 1,000 jobs.

Shop Direct is one of Arise Virtual Solutions’ clients, and a team from the company delivered a presentation to more than 100 Crosby staff last week and could return for further presentations depending on demand.

Arise vice president, international, John Riordan, told LDP Business: “Our business is about home-based businesses, not jobs. It is not for everybody, but we were delighted with the level of interest shown last week.”

The Arise model requires their certified staff to pay their own set-up costs, but Mr Riordan added: “We have waived quite a lot of charges, as we are in launch mode.

“The assumption is most people own a PC, but they have to have a dedicated phone line and a headset and pay for a background check.

“We will contract directly with them once they have set up their own business.

“By the end of this year, we will have five or six clients in the UK.”

He said: “Homeshoring is a concept that has been embraced in the US fairly aggressively and is now being embraced in the UK.”

Shop Direct customer experience director Nicola Collister said: "Our business is rapidly changing because the way our customers choose to shop with us is changing.Š The Arise model provides us with all this flexibility and more.”

Martin Stacey, programme manager for industry champion Call North West, added: “Increasingly, organisations in the region are looking at Homeshoring as a method of ensuring they have the highest skills available at the times they are required.”