By Julian Knight BBC News business reporter in Cape Town

South Africa wants UK call centre jobs

"We are not asking for too much, just a small piece of the action - say 100,000 jobs over the next five years."

Ebrahim Rasool, the first ANC premier of the Western Cape, is evidently not afraid to set ambitious goals.

He sees persuading UK firms to move their call centres to South Africa as key to his nation's future prosperity.

"We have lots of people in low-skilled jobs and have been successful at attracting some high-skilled manufacturing and technology work.

"What we need now is more middle-tier jobs - for school leavers with good, but not outstanding, academic qualifications; this is where call centres will come in."

Mr Rasool hopes that his nation's well-educated workforce, and a planned deregulation of telephone services, will help South Africa carry away the job prize.

Learning curve

Recent years have seen South Africa's economy make good progress. Inflation and interest rates have been cut and the economy is expected to grow at close to 4% this year.

While South Africa can't hold a candle to India or China in the economic success stakes, progress has been made.

"International businesses were put off South Africa for quite some time," says Mike Havard, managing director of CM Insight, one of the first management consultancy firms to advise UK businesses to move their call centres to India.

"[South African suppliers] naively tried to make too much money out of their dealings with international firms, they saw them as a cash cow.

Over here call centre workers stay in their jobs for three times longer on average than UK workers - it is good career not just a stop-gap Angela Keys, Gauteng Economic Development Agency

"But that attitude has changed markedly, they are now strongly selling what they have to offer."

For Mr Havard the planned de-regulation of the country's fixed line telephone service in February is a strong indication that South Africa has truly woken up to business needs.

But deregulation South African style is a pale imitation of what has occurred in the UK.

Whereas in the UK deregulation of phone services has led to many operators and lots of competition - some critics would suggest confusion too - the predominant Telkom network can initially expect competition from only one other operator.

In effect, a monopoly is morphing into a duopoly.

Nevertheless, Mr Havard estimates that the costs to firms operating call centres in South Africa will fall by 10-12%.

No bad thing, as the government's strong Rand policy has led to the country's currency rising sharply against Sterling and, particularly, the US dollar.

This makes it more expensive for UK and US firms to do business in the country.

Hot potato

The term "offshoring" takes a simple concept and makes it seem both complex and somewhat ominous.

The call centre has been built, but will business come?

However, in simple terms, offshoring means moving, or creating jobs, abroad.

Many UK firms have embraced it as a route to cutting costs, to the chagrin of British based employees, some unions and commentators.

But anger in the UK at offshoring constitutes nothing more than low background noise compared with the reaction in the US.

The issue of firms moving jobs abroad became a political hot potato in the recent US presidential election.

"We have found UK firms are internationally minded and are very willing to look at opening new operations offshore," says Angela Keys, spokeswoman for the Gauteng Economic Development Agency.

It is reponsbile for an area which includes Johannesburg and accounts for a huge 10% of Africa's economy.

Staking a claim

To date, India, with its strong historical links with Britain, has grabbed the lion's share of the call centre action.

But South Africa has, slowly but surely, been staking a claim

Call centre growth in South Africa 1997: 185 centres 1999: 305 centres 2001: 410 centres 2003: 505 centres Source: Gautang Economic Development Agency

The number of call centres located in South Africa has increased three-fold since 1997, with an estimated 80,000 South Africans working in them.

This is small beer compared with India, but regional development agencies in South Africa say they offer something unique, more than just another well of comparatively cheap labour.

"There are other parts of the world which beat us on cost but we have a well-educated workforce that is uniquely tuned into British and American culture," Ms Keys said.

If the Manchester United football shirts on display in Cape Town's streets and the TV listings filled with US soaps are anything to go by, she has a point.

"This means our workers have the cultural background to ably deal with complex UK customer queries," Ms Keys added.

"Over here call centre workers stay in their jobs for three times longer on average than UK workers. It is a good career not just a stop-gap."

Lost generation

But not all is rosy. South Africa, which is celebrating ten years of democracy, has an international reputation for high crime.

The gap between rich and poor is huge

The gap between rich and poor has widened of late and unemployment has risen to more than 30%, while HIV/Aids affects about one in nine of the population.

One government official, who did not wish to be named, said there was a "lost generation" of South Africans.

Call centres will probably not even scratch the surface of such huge social problems, even if the target of 100,000 jobs over the next five years is achieved.

However, Mr Rasool sees attracting jobs as part of the country's evolutionary approach to throwing off the yoke of the apartheid era.