IBM Canada makes plans to expand its Bedford operation

Bedford is about to see an influx of new jobs numbering in the hundreds.

That’s because IBM Canada has recently announced that it will be expanding its Client Innovation Centre in Westway Park just off Innovation Drive in West Bedford.

As a result, the company says it will be adding 350 new positions over the next five years.

“We’re extremely excited about it,” says Dave McCann, newly named IBM Canada president about the Bedford-based operation. “We’ll continue through our hybrid working model to employ Nova Scotians from various parts of the province but the growth will be around our Client Innovation Centre, which is located in Bedford.”

McCann, who is also managing partner, IBM Consulting Canada, says the addition of the new jobs will bring the company into a position of employing more than 1,000 people in the Client Innovation Centre.

“We’re excited about the continued growth we are going to have in this amazing delivery centre and our partnership in Nova Scotia,” adds McCann, noting that the expansion was made possible in part due to Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI), which put up more than $9 million in payroll rebates to facilitate the growth.

“One of the unique benefits of doing work in Nova Scotia is the diverse set of stakeholders and entities we’ve had the opportunity to partner with,” says McCann, noting IBM Canada has been welcomed by municipal governments, post-secondary institutions and other partners to assist with the company’s local expansion since opening the Client Innovation Centre.

“It’s really the success of all those partners together, with NSBI of course, that helps make our growth so successful in Nova Scotia,” adds McCann. “They are all an important part in our recipe for expansion.”

Opening in March 2013, IBM Canada’s Client Innovation Centre provides application management and consulting services to administer and transform IT systems for everything from local government departments to businesses and universities.

As part of the centre’s mandate, IBM Canada also partnered with seven Atlantic Canadian post-secondary institutions to build analytics curriculum and ensure local students gain the high-demand skills necessary to enter into the workforce.

In fact, the global tech company recently launched the first Maritimes P-TECH (Pathways in Technology, Early College High School) program at a handful of schools in Halifax, as well as one at a campus based in Esksoni, Nova Scotia.

“IBM is extremely proud to do its part to create a more diverse, equal society,” says McCann about the P-TECH model, which assists students to graduate with a high school diploma, an industry-aligned college diploma as well as workplace experience.

“The goal to our P-TECH program really is to prepare young people, particularly those in underserved or underrepresented backgrounds or communities, to gain that academic achievement and economic opportunity,” adds McCann. “It’s truly about building an ecosystem that helps have an impact to our communities, people, post-secondary as well as high school and it helps to have an impact on our clients at the end of the day.”

With the new expansion of the Client Innovation Centre, McCann says that investment into Nova Scotia economy and resources will only continue to grow.

“(People) would be shocked at understanding the diversity and inclusiveness of the team and culture we have in Nova Scotia,” adds McCann, noting that in 2021, IBM Canada educated students with more than 450 net new industry and accredited certifications across all platforms.

“The majority of where we are hiring from is directly from Nova Scotia universities and colleges and if you think about where we are getting that growth, it’s a significant amount that’s coming out of Nova Scotia schools and I think that’s an important point.”