When U.S. Rep. Martha Roby looks for examples of job growth in her district, CGI’s Center for Excellence in Troy rises to the top of the list.

“To have this facility located in the second Congressional District is very exciting, not just for the jobs that are here now, but the prospect of jobs for the future. I understand that we can grow up to 450 jobs, which is really exciting,” Roby said during a tour of the facility on Wednesday.

CGI Group Inc., which provides information technology and business process services, hosted Roby in its Troy offices. With 140 employees on staff, and a commitment to employ 300 people by 2012, Roby said the local economic incentives the company will bring through the job growth will prove invaluable.

“Certainly anytime you have job growth, you’re going to bring dollars back into the private sector to be spent here locally, but also to grow the community,” Roby said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity and the partnership with Troy University is excellent and is a ‘win-win’ situation. It’s a great asset to the community and I look forward to watching it grow.” Roby said recruiting more businesses like CGI to the state of Alabama would entail a shift in government spending, something she advocates. “Our economy right now will continue to grow if we cut spending and if we lower the deficit,” Roby said. “We’ve got to get money back in the hands of those who have the ability to create jobs. The government doesn’t create jobs, private industry creates jobs.”

And for Roby, the CGI-Troy success is simply an example of what could lie ahead for the state. “I think what you see is that Alabama is ripe for job growth,” Roby said. “When you see a company like this invest themselves into Troy’s community, the hope is that this would be an example for other industries throughout the country to take a really good look at Alabama, that this is a wonderful place to foster job growth and to get our economy and our country back on track.”

New industries like CGI, Roby feels, are vital to the local economy.

And, when CGI can feasibly create up to 450 jobs total, there is little doubt as to how much of an impact the job growth will have in Troy. “The job growth can have a tremendous impact, not just on the local economy here, but certainly for our state and as we see more companies like this invest in our state we are going to continue to see our economy grow,” Roby said.