B U I L D I N G B U S I N E S S B E T T E R
Town of Tillsonburg introduces Bonds to help developers
Accelerate with an internship! The Accelerate Grant (www.mitacs.ca/en/ programs/accelerate ) is an opportunity to submit a proposal to the Mitacs Company with the chance to win a four-month internship with a $15,000 grant. To be eligible your team must include a student, a supervising professor, and a partner organization to develop a research project and present it via Mitacs representation. EMC celebrates 20 year anniversary Congratulations to the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) on achieving their 20th anniversary this year. EMC has developed thousands of trusted relationships with manufacturers across Canada over the years and have established over 60 consortiums regions. EMC dedicates their success to the commitment of their members, and support of their dedicated team and plan to continue demonstrating innovation and excellence every day for the years to come. TILLSONBURG’S PLAN continued from page 1 “Tillsonburg Town Council is pleased to support these investments in our community” says Tillsonburg Mayor Stephen Molnar. “Our Community Improvement Plan provides an incentive for property owners to re-invest and rehabilitate dated facilities to enable their re-use for new purposes while creating jobs for our residents”, he adds. Please visit www.tillsonburg.ca/CIP for additional information regarding the new program. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the Economic Development Office if they have any questions relating to the program. “The Town updated its CIP program in 2017 with extensive input from our economic Development Committee, County Planning and Economic Development Departments”, says Town CAO David Calder, “and the success we are seeing is due in part to the innovative contributions they made to re-establishing this program”.
Town council recently approved the use of development bonds as an alternative way for developers to meet their security deposit obligations required for new construction projects. These bonds can be used instead of cash or letters of credit and allows the developer to provide security without impacting their cash flow. A development bond is a relatively new financial tool that is just starting to be used in Canada. The Town of Tillsonburg received a request from a local developer to provide this tool and, after conducting some due diligence, it was determined that this is a suitable way to enable flexibility for the developer while protecting the Town. Providing this option is just another way that the Town is working to create a more business friendly environment. Earlier this year, 324 local employers from the London Economic Region (Elgin County, Middlesex County, Oxford County, the City of London, and City of St. Thomas) completed the EmployerOne annual survey, where they provided information on their organizations workforce. The EmployerOne survey is a comprehensive survey of local employers focused on the demand-side of the London-region labour market. The annual survey collects information on a range of Human Resources issues: labour turnover, hard-to-fill position, recruitment difficulties, and current and future skill shortages. KEY FINDINGS: n 81% of respondent said they hired in 2017, 69% of respondents plan to hire in 2018 and 42% of those hires are due to expansion plans n Top hires in 2017 included: full-time and part-time occupations in manufacturing and sales and service occupations
“Tillsonburg has a long history of continuous improvement and this is just another example of how we work with investors to improve the services we offer” says Stephan Molnar, Tillsonburg Mayor. The new bonds do not restrict developer’s balance sheets as a letter of credit would. Instead, bonds will be granted by insurers allowing developers to access cash in a way not normally possible with letters of credit. “This change will have a real impact and enable developers, especially small and medium developers, to manage their projects more effectively resulting in increased levels of development in the municipality.” says David Calder, Tillsonburg` s CAO. n 38% of respondents said they hired a youth, 27% hired someone who is over 55, and 20% hired a visible minority n Hard-to-fill positions in 2017 include: trades helpers, construction labourers, industrial trades, and service representatives n Top planned hires for 2018 include: full-time and seasonal sales and service jobs, jobs in manufacturing, and contract trade jobs n 43% of participating businesses rank the availability of qualified workers in the region as excellent or good n Top 3 recruitment methods: personal contacts, online jobs boards, and company website n Employers value work ethic, self- motivation, and teamwork/interpersonal skills in employees n 80% of participating businesses provided professional development or training for employees
EmployerOne Survey Results
Thanks to Co-op student Sharon Quach for her assistance in preparing this newsletter
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