Survey Says – County Supportive, Competitive Place for Business

In February, we conducted the Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) Survey to better understand the needs of local businesses and learn how local business owners and operators view the County as a place to do business.

WHAT DID WE HEAR?

Overall, the survey findings were very positive. The feedback provided by our local business community will serve as a benchmark and be used to help identify potential expansion and retention opportunities.

Key Indicators + Business Performance Stats

Key findings from the survey are as follows:

We value our business community’s input – thanks again to those who took part in the survey. Visit our Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) Survey page to view the survey results.

PRIORITY AREAS

We received feedback from businesses about areas where the County could improve the support we offer. We want to make sure the County is an internationally competitive location to attract, grow and sustain diverse business. As such, we take this feedback seriously and are considering it as we develop our programs and prioritize resources.

Here are a few factors impacting our local business community:

Funding Programs

Whether you are a new start-up or an established business, access to funding programs and supports that align with your business needs is critical. The County’s Programs and Support page is your dedicated online resource. We want to help your business gain a competitive advantage, so we share these supports in our monthly Business Brief e-newsletter and on social media (primarily Twitter and LinkedIn).

Note: Visit the Programs and Support page often; we update it as soon as we find out about new resources.

Internet Service

We understand that connectivity, especially in rural Alberta, is an integral part of doing business. We are working to get residents and businesses access to reliable high-speed internet through our broadband initiative.

Phase one includes fibre installation to residences and businesses along the fibre route in the southwest corner of the County. The route is finalized and construction is underway, with some areas already connected to the network. There have been no outages or issues with the network and the County is working to attract additional internet service providers.

Property owners and business parks along the core service route can join the fibre network after installation is complete. You must fill out your Access Agreement to get connected.

Availability of Skilled Labour

Ensuring there are enough workers with the right skills and supports to drive sustainable economic growth is a priority for the County. We are working to strengthen our relationships with local post-secondary institutions to make sure programming aligns with County business needs. We are fortunate to have eight post-secondary institutions nearby, with more than 130,000 students enrolled. We will continue working with these institutions to aligning programming to our sectors.