Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Transcription

1 Strategic Theme 3 Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development Theme Introduction Human capital is an essential element of the knowledge based economy. From , Halton Region s population increased by 10.4% from 339,875 to 375,229 compared to the provincial average of 6.1% over the same time period. Between 2001 and 2004, the Region experienced growth of 13.9%. This strong population growth was a major contributor to the Region s economy. Population Growth Halton Region Est Increase Oakville 128, , , % Burlington 136, , , % Halton Hills 42,390 49,184 55, % Milton 32,104 31,471 33, % Total 339, , , % Source: Halton Region, Planning and Transportation Services (Best Planning Estimates) and Statistics Canada Halton Region is projected to double in population between 2001 and 2031 and employment is expected to increase by approximately 105% in the same period. Aside from providing employment for Halton s residents, employment also generates property taxes to pay for municipal services. This is one of the reasons for the need to balance population growth along with employment growth. With high levels of growth projected for Halton, there is a need to proactively support entrepreneurialism and skills development in the workforce. In a knowledge-based economy where the driving force is the intellectual capital, ingenuity, creativity and technical capabilities of the labour force, knowledge of skills development will be essential to maintain the strong economic growth currently enjoyed in the Region. This is one of the key strategic themes included in the Region s Economic Development Strategy. High quality jobs generate wealth and investment and help develop quality of life within a community. Having a highly skilled and educated workforce has become a key competitive advantage for any region. One of the essen- Forecast Historic & Forecast Population, Halton Region Population (in 1000s) Historic Source: Hemson Consulting Ltd. & Statistics Canada Figure 8 44 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

2 tial prerequisites for sustainable economic prosperity and improved quality of life is ensuring that the right skills for the new knowledge economy are available. Ensuring that a labour force has the appropriate skills requires economic development entities to have strong networks and partnerships with organizations involved in education, skills development, innovation and entrepreneurship. Total Employment and Change Goods and Services Producing Industries, Halton Region As shown in Figure 9, the Region s employment is largely based in the Services Producing Industries (67%). The four largest industries in this sector are wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, finance, insurance and real estate and professional, scientific and technical services. Services producing employment in Halton increased 40% from 1991 to 2001 compared with an increase of 23% in goods production. However, Halton s goods producing sector remains significant as a key contributor to regional gross domestic product (GDP) and exports and provides a strong link for Halton into global supply chains. In the Halton context, the innovation economy is truly epitomized by not only the information technology and bioscience industries but also by the goods producing, manufacturing sector. Today, economic growth is driven by knowledge, skills, innovation and entrepreneurship. Universities, colleges and other teaching facilities play an important role in training and developing the skilled talent needed to fuel innovation which leads to new products, an increase in productivity, the creation of new companies and jobs. With greater competition, the ability to create unique offerings through innovation and to bring these offerings to market quickly is vital for economic success. As a Goods Producing Services Producing Source: Statistics Canada Figure 9 result, there is a high value placed on entrepreneurship and the ability to marshal the skills, financing, and other components necessary to create business and economic growth. While traditional factors such as location, proximity to highways and readily available sites remain important in corporate location decisions, a strong, highly skilled labour pool is a pivotal factor in an innovation economy. A principal measure of labour force skill is educational attainment. Halton s labour force by educational attainment stood out compared to Ontario averages. As shown in the following graph, close to two-thirds of Halton s labour force has some form of post secondary education, which outpaces the Ontario average. Enterprises exist to create wealth. Creating wealth requires innovation. The source of all innovation is human capital. Peter Drucker Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 45

3 Strategic Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development Educational Attainment Labour Force Halton Region and Ontario there continues to be a need to increase the number of positions available within the Region to reduce the level of out-commuting, particularly given the concerns identified by the existing business community in terms of traffic congestion. By supporting entrepreneurialism in the Region, there is the ability to increase employment opportunities across Halton. Source: Statistics Canada High School or Less Post Secondary Figure 10 An innovation economy requires higher skills to stay competitive, and ensuring that there is a proper balance of employability skills by cultivating a well-trained workforce and developing a coordinated labour strategy is an essential element for sustained economic vitality. The Region has a leadership role to play in fostering the conditions that will meet critical skill demands of business and industry to support both existing business and new investment. While Halton Region boasts a highly skilled labour force, many of these highly skilled workers commute out of the Region on a daily basis. And even though the Region has experienced strong growth in knowledge industries, there continues to be a shortage of employment opportunities available in Halton in areas such as professional, scientific, finance and technology services. A significant number of those who out-commute are in the professional and technical field and could fill the type of jobs that Halton needs to attract to secure its future prosperity. Therefore, while the Region has shown strong growth in knowledge industries and has a skilled workforce that is aligned to this sector, Improving Halton s live-work relationship is therefore an important goal. Actions to help achieve this goal would need to focus on developing jobs in industries and sectors that require the types of skills provided by members of Halton s labour force who currently commute out. Equally, there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that the sizeable labour force that commutes into the Region for both the services and goods producing sectors has housing options within Halton. To that end, the Region recently adopted a Comprehensive Housing Strategy (CHS) that incorporates a series of policies and actions to ensure a variety of affordable housing types for Halton residents, regardless of income and stage of life. Goal 3A Encourage New Entrepreneurs, Start-up and Growing Businesses in Halton This goal recognizes the need to support entrepreneurialism to attract new targeted growth in employment within the Region and to ensure the success of new start-up businesses. The future of enterprise growth and job creation depends on a strong entrepreneurial culture and the Region can play a protective role to help them meet the challenges of competition in a global marketplace through entrepreneurial training programs, developing ways to identify future entrepreneurs, and recognizing success. The shortage of skilled labour is one of the fastest growing concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises. Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

4 Through its existing Business Development Division, Halton Region provides workshops, seminars and training programs which are designed to provide information, advice and coaching on business development needs that are necessary to start up businesses and entrepreneurs. This is undertaken in collaboration with both private and public partners. During the course of the review, Economic Development experts identified the opportunity for the Region to strengthen the educational services for workforce training. Other recommended areas of focus included the need to create initiatives to increase entrepreneurship, especially in rapid growth companies that stimulate the development of high wage/value jobs. Small Business Start-Ups While larger scale businesses are often geared to exports and bring new wealth into a region, small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for generating the vast majority of jobs in a community. The quality, diversity and vitality of local SMEs is a good indicator of a Region s overall economic and social well-being. Since most start-ups are initiated by local residents, activities and programs that foster entrepreneurship help maintain and expand the local economy. These entrepreneurs and innovators have to be convinced that Halton is where their ideas can germinate and create wealth. One way of viewing the composition of Halton s economy is to consider the profile in terms of the number of enterprises by sector. This perspective provides a profile that emphasizes the importance of small business to the Region s economy. Among the distinguishing characteristics of Halton s economic make-up are its diversity and its large number of enterprises. Halton has recently experienced significant growth in the number of enterprises. Between June 1999 and December 2005, the number of enterprises grew from 21,771 to 35,195, representing an increase of 61.7%. Growth in the number of enterprises reflects the dynamic and healthy nature of Halton s economy. Enterprises with 1 9 employees, in fact, grew the most, demonstrating Halton s entrepreneurial spirit. At the same time, the challenges facing small businesses both starting up and sustaining their growth are substantial as they tend to have few resources and limited specialized knowledge. Halton Region s Business Development Division plays a role in helping address such challenges by providing a range of support services. The Division is seen as being helpful by economic development offices in the Local Municipalities as it provides a more substantial range of services than they would be capable of offering individually. Once businesses are established in Halton, economic development focus must shift to providing support for growth and expansion. The Local Municipalities play a key role in this area, particularly in terms of addressing ongoing issues that may arise and assisting businesses when physical expansions and relocation projects occur. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Recent studies from the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity have shown that Ontario faces both a produc- Employee Range Enterprises 1999 Enterprises 2005 % Change % of Total ,509 30, % 87.7% ,594 3, % 9.7% % 1.5% % 1.1% % 0.1% Total 21,771 35, % 100.0% Source: Statistics Canada, Community Benchmarks Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 47

5 Strategic Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development tivity gap and an innovation gap vis-à-vis peer states in the United States. One of the reasons that the innovation gap exists has to do with management skills, with the U.S. outpacing Ontario in this area. Senior levels of government have recognized this problem and have identified public policy responses to the dilemma including the Ontario government s July 2006 announcement of the $46 million Market Readiness Program, which includes an early stage investment fund and a business mentorship and entrepreneurship program. The Region is uniquely positioned to be a leader in service delivery in this latter area, with the Business Development Division currently providing various services to entrepreneurs within the Region. The Region s involvement in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation is strategic and necessary as the fostering of entrepreneurs and their innovations is absolutely critical to Halton s ongoing success as a place where ideas take birth and blossom into fruition; a cornerstone of the Region evolving into an innovation economy. Goal 3B Provide Support to Business in Skills Development The function of research, education and training in economic development has become more prominent recently in response to growth in the knowledge based economy. More and more, business is forming strategic partnerships to ensure that the skills required to fulfill these sectors are Action 14 Continue to enhance services offered through the Region s Business Development Division including business registration and consulting and coaching services. Action 15 Increase the educational services offered through the Region s Business Development Division including seminars in areas such as marketing, Internet/website development, Starting a Small Business, Business Plan Development, Export development, management, finance and information technology and commercialization. Action 16 Continue to promote and support programs to stimulate youth entrepreneurship such as Summer Company and the Secondary School Business Plan Competition. Action 17 Enhance the Access to Professionals mentoring programs to guide less experienced business owners to success. Action 18 Continue to work with networks linking angel investors, venture capital, banks and other financing sources to new businesses and research to improve access to capital for new firms. Action 19 Support the development and delivery of industry based training initiatives including cooperative programs and support of apprenticeship programs to assist workers develop new skills and provide a positive transition from academia to work environment, and to help low-income clients and foreign-trained professionals succeed in Halton. 48 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

6 available. As such, the Region will work with other public and private entities to promote policies and programs which encourage education, training, workforce development and basic and advanced/technology skills enhancement. Arguably the most effective way to increase employment at a Regional level is to promote employment creation among existing business. This will require the Region to play a lead role in researching and identifying the Region s major economic drivers and emerging industries through regular research and consultation. By doing so, the Region, working closely with its Local Municipal partners, is better positioned to facilitate employment growth in key sectors through identifying local industry trends, skills required and facilitating the delivery of growth strategies. Halton Region provides a variety of training and support to start-up businesses and enterprises. Also, there are several workforce development organizations in Halton. There is a need for the Region to play a coordinating role to facilitate better forecasting of industry requirements, skills shortages and deficiencies within the Region, to advocate for more apprenticeship and skilled trades training and education, including programs for low-income clients and foreign-trained professionals, and to identify opportunities to attract and support new institutions of higher learning, research, management development and training. The Region has close links with Halton s principal postsecondary education facility, Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, a leader in the field of digital media and elder care. Halton also works closely with McMaster University and plans are advancing with the City of Burlington to establish a satellite campus in Burlington. An Australian university, Charles Sturt, provides a Bachelor of Primary Education Studies program in Burlington in conjunction with the Halton School Boards. Halton also has access and ties to a wide range of institutions throughout the GTA and GGH. In addition to post-secondary institutions, there are several organizations within Halton that are dedicated to skills development, focusing particularly on employment opportunities that do not require university degree: The Centre for Skills Development and Training The Halton Industry Education Council, which links businesses and educators Action 20 Work with the Halton Industry Education Council and other stakeholders to establish a labour market skills information system to facilitate better forecasting of industry requirements, skills shortages and deficiencies. Performance Indicators Encourage New Entrepreneurs, Start-up and Growing Businesses in Halton Take-up of Region s Business Development Division services by businesses & individuals Degree of change in perception of Halton within the business community Provide Support to Business in Skills Development Number of businesses assisted by the Business Development Division Number of businesses that register at the Business Development Division Participation rates at courses and seminars Customer satisfaction rates for the Business Development Division s courses and seminars Number of youths participating in entrepreneurial programs Summer Company and Business Plan Competition and provincial ranking vs. other enterprise centres Number of business owners that attended mentoring programs Number of entrepreneurs that have taken courses in commercialization and innovation development Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 49