The provincial government has ended its contract with the company it used for civil service training after Ceridian Canada missed job-creation targets that were part of the deal.
Finance Minister Wes Sheridan said the decision to end the contract was mutually agreed upon.
“The relationship is as strong as it ever was,” he said.
Ceridian was contracted to do provincial civil service and health training as part of a five-year agreement worth up to $1.4 million.
A spokeswoman for the Finance Department said the company was about 25 jobs short of its target.
The company also received about $3 million in tax credits over the years.
Sheridan said the contract with Ceridian was conditional on the company meeting certain job targets.
“They weren’t able to continue to grow that number in Prince Edward Island and therefore things had to change and we came to a mutual agreement on the best way to resolve that issue,” he said.
The plan going forward is for the province to seek requests for proposals for future training and Ceridian will be able to take part in that process, Sheridan said.
“It’s just that the contract amount will not be laid out in advance.”
Sheridan said there were not any issues with the quality of Ceridian’s training.
“We’re very happy with it and continue to be happy with what they have done for us and that’s why they’ll be strong proponents going forward when an RFP is needed for the training we’ll be looking for,” he said.
The province evaluated Ceridian’s job numbers every year in December and it was after the latest evaluation that both sides agreed a change was the best way to move forward, Sheridan said.
He also said the government isn’t trying to take away any training or make a change because of budget cuts.
“It’s just a matter of economic development change,” he said.
