A NORTHUMBERLAND HR and training consultancy has won a major Canadian contract.

The Inspire People Group has teamed up with a Canadian partner to deliver the HR contract to the 1,500 staff working across 10 ministries for the Government of Saskatchewan.

Inspire’s founding partner Graham Cook said the deal came about after he attended a conference in Canada last year.

“I went courtesy of UK Trade & Investment to a healthcare leaders conference in Vancouver, with the sole intention of winning public sector procurement,” he said. “We quite unashamedly looked for a partner who would be able to do the hard work: we are very specialist in what we do.” The Morpeth-based three-man team has now linked up with Vancouver’s Westmark Consulting to deliver the contract.

Inspire will design, deliver and make recommendations on an online assessment tool as part of a major change management programme.

“We are doing this work with immediate effect to be completed by the end of March,” said Cook, who expects the project to double Inspire’s turnover “overnight”, although he did not want to give figures.

“We are also working on an assessment tool that will potentially throw up further work in staff development that could be delivered locally in Canada, but there may be more bespoke work.” The overall project is being monitored by Harvard Business School in the US, which will produce a report when it is complete.

Cook said: “We are delighted with this vote of confidence in our ability to deliver at the highest level in the public sector.

“We undertook three smaller projects for the client in 2010, however, this is easily the single biggest piece of work we have been awarded since our formation in early 2009.”

The Canadian contract is based on a model Inspire used in GP practices in Northumberland and Newcastle.

The business is keen to win similar public sector contracts in the North East.