Council adopts the 2020 Economic Development Strategic Plan

Whitecourt Town Council adopted the 2020 Economic Development Strategic Plan during the January 27 regular meeting of council. The purpose of the plan is to identify priorities and to decide how resources will be allocated to meet the goals set forward by the Economic Development Committee.

The first topic targets attracting specific investment opportunities and diversification efforts. It lists how the committee and council will learn about these topics by investigating potential leads and identifying key representatives for regional visits. It mentions expanding regional visits to the service sector and ensuring Whitecourt is investment ready as top priorities.

The committee mentions that developing regular meetings every two months with oil and gas companies in Calgary is a positive action plan. Enhancements to the economic development section of the town website is also listed as a step which they plan to complete by April. By September, the plan is to have a maintained database of available commercial land and buildings within the community which will enable the town to know exactly what is available for any potential investment opportunities.

Mayor Maryann Chichak said having the plan is very important. “It ties council, the Economic Development Committee, and administration together in terms of providing one vision to grow and move the community forward and create further partnerships that will enhance the quality of life in Whitecourt for not only our residents but also for the business community as it grows and thrives.”

“The plan is broken down into our “now” projects that we want to focus on for 2020 and what things our committee has agreed are really important with the support of council. We want to ensure that we are still looking at how we can diversify and attract new business to our community while at the same time working with our existing businesses on business retention and expansion.” She said working closely with businesses will enable them to see where there might be training gaps and how to support the businesses to fill those. From there, the plan leads into another priority that was identified which is community training.

“How do we enhance post-secondary education opportunities within our own community not only for students but also for employees and those who would like to transition into, perhaps, new types of careers?” Action steps that were put forward by the committee include meeting with the Whitecourt & District Chamber of Commerce to review the various partnership and sponsorship opportunities and taking part in business visits at a rate of eight to 10 each month. This will enable the committee to learn about issues as they arise and help create a strong relationship with business owners.

As far as training, in February, the group will be applying for a Labour Market Partnership Program to fund a contractor to assist with matching the demand for training with the current market. Also, within the month, the group will be meeting with Norquest Collect to identify courses that are available based on the training that was identified as being needed locally.

“The third component is the advocacy side which we can never forget about. How do we as a community advocate for healthcare, supporting industry on a caribou range plan, and making sure we are always up to speed and involved by forming partnerships and alliances with industry? Also, how do we formulate additional partnership with government at a provincial or federal level or even if it is with our local Chamber of Commerce. How do we move forward and partner together?” The strategic plan in its entirety can be viewed on the Town of Whitecourt website at www.whitecourt.ca.