An Ontario-based information technology company is setting up a new data centre in New Brunswick that is expected to create 150 jobs in the province.

Prudential Consulting Inc. and the N.B. government announced on Monday that it will be creating 50 new IT jobs in Saint John and 100 home-based medical transcription positions throughout the province.

The province has given Prudential Consulting a $540,000 forgivable loan for the data centre and invested a further $260,000 toward the company's startup costs.

"I am very pleased that a leading Canadian-based technology company has chosen the city of Saint John to establish its first data centre in Atlantic Canada," said Premier Shawn Graham on Monday. "The fact that PCI is creating 100 home-based medical transcription positions is significant, as we believe that there is potential to build upon these jobs in the future."

The company is working with Oultens Business College and the New Brunswick Community College to fill the new positions, said Vik Khurana, chief executive office of Prudential Consulting.

"Students are undergoing training to be hired when the courses are complete," Khurana said. "We don't want to be in a situation where we are taking from the existing work pool because there's a shortage of workers, so it's our focus to train people from scratch."

The positions are meant to help reduce the backlog of patient records in hospitals across Canada, Khurana said.

The data centre will standardize dictation and transcription platforms needed to provide consistent care in Canadian hospitals, Khurana said.