IBM Canada is Creating 500 Jobs in Halifax

Earlier this month IBM Canada announced plans to create the Halifax Global Delivery Centre.

The delivery centre would be the only one of its kind and could employ up to 500 people over the next eight years.

The goal of the delivery centre is to support the Nova Scotian SAP system, which processes provincial government data – everything from payroll to human resources. According to the Chronicle Herald, the deal benefits both the IBM and Nova Scotia, with IBM making $12.2 million in payroll rebates, and the province gaining $6 million in tax revenue.

The contract is for 10 years. Darell Dexter, the Premier of Nova Scotia, sees this as an opportunity to keep people from leaving the province looking for jobs. “We will be building the economy of the future, and that’s what we’re doing today,” he says. “Young people will be able to find jobs, high-paying jobs here in Nova Scotia, so they no longer have to pick up and go to Ontario or Alberta.”

IBM’s SAP system provides analytical information on huge amounts of data. The contract also provides new opportunity to government employees already working on SAP, as IBM intend to hire them away from the government. Some employees however, may see this as a negative turn of events as, while salary won’t change, they will lose benefits and perhaps job security.

“This is, in fact, giving employees the opportunity of their lifetime, to be able to get a new career in information technology with a global leader,” said Premier Dexter. “If they decide they don’t want that, then they are able to stay with the province of Nova Scotia. It is literally the best of all possible worlds.”