Business retention effort launched

Economic development agency campaign encouraging existing businesses to expand

Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) is keeping its finger on the pulse of the business community in the city and county through a new business retention and expansion effort that gets underway next week.

The project aims to help existing businesses become more competitive by mapping areas of concern, giving the organization clear direction on exactly where it should focus its efforts, director of business development Suzanne McCrimmon said Tuesday.

“Overall, we want to get a feeling from all sectors ... to make sure we are aware if they are expanding and to see if they have any concerns,” she said.

During telephone interview surveys that get began Thursday, business owners and managers will be asked to identify their needs and opportunities.

More than 200 businesses have been contacted to take part in the effort, which is part of two pilot projects in eastern and western Canada.

Information gleaned will be used to plan future economic development activities. PKED will review the findings and take steps to enhance the local business environment and communicate with respondents about opportunities or challenges they are facing.

McCrimmon said economic development staff, who are working with a private company, could learn that a company is having difficulty finding mid-level managers, or that an agricultural business can’t seem to find enough seasonal workers, for example.

PKED could then tailors its own programs and services, as well as draw upon its partnerships with local employment services, or the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to work together on a solution.

Project results will be shared with the community early in 2018 in the form of a report and presentations to both city and county council, McCrimmon said. She pointed out that Selwyn Township recently had much success with a similar effort.

McCrimmon believes the survey will bring attention to what the extension of Highway 407 to Highway 35/115 will mean to the city and county.

Project information will also go a long way towards helping officials ensure that the city is ready for business attraction, she said.

NOTE: Call Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development at 705-743-0777, stop by its new location at the VentureNorth building at 270 George St. N. or visit www.peterboroughed.ca for more information.