FLINT, MI -- Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy is on target hire 100 new employees by the end of the year as part of its plans for future expansion.

The announcement, made Monday, is part of the privately owned specialty pharmacy’s goal to hire 1,000 people by the end of 2015, according to a press release.

The positions being filled are in the areas of patient care coordination, order entry, customer service, nursing, sales and information technology.

The positions are full-time and open to qualified candidates of all skill levels.

Filling the information technology positions has been difficult because many qualified individuals live in Southeast Michigan, said Human Resources Manager Tracey Watlington

“It is our biggest struggle, just finding qualified candidates,” she said. “A lot of individuals with IT experience haven’t considered Flint.”

In June, Diplomat CEO Phil Hagerman said the company would hire 150 to 100 new employees by the end of the year.

Hagerman also projected as many as 300 new employees would be hired by the end of 2013, depending on the success of service contracts.

Diplomat’s history goes back to the 1970s, when Hagerman's father, Dale Hagerman, opened a store as part of a small chain of pharmacies.

The company grew and in 1991, Hagerman became president.

In 2010, Diplomat moved into the former General Motors Great Lakes Technology Center on South Saginaw Street. The company had a little more than 400 employees at that time.

Diplomat now has more than 760 employees, with 680 of those positions in Flint.