The BC Economic Development Portal has been updated with new, enhanced services that aim to help improve the economic wellbeing and resilience of communities across British Columbia.
The portal, a one-stop destination that looks to meet the needs of stakeholders, is part of the BC Jobs Plan, the government’s strategy for diversifying, strengthening and growing the BC economy, which includes a commitment to work with communities, helping them respond to opportunities to develop their economy.
Communities across the province, including First Nations, can readily access tools and resources essential to helping them fulfill the potential of their economic development potential, as well as build capacity locally; the new tools include:
- Funding and Grants Search Tool: Enables communities to search an up-to-date database to find financial support.
- Performance Measurement Tool: Using this, communities can track their success and showcase economic development value.
Upgraded tools include:
- BC Economic Atlas: An economic data-mapping tool that gives communities the power to visualize the potential of their region and make informed decisions.
- Economic Development Resources: With this, communities can learn the basics, assess themselves and use toolkits, such as the Business Attraction Toolkit, to find economic opportunities and secure potential investment.
Webinar Series: Provides access to live and recorded webinars, enabling communities to keep track of current trends and innovative practices.
With the BC Economic Development Portal allows communities across BC to find tools, integrated data and templates to help them evaluate, create and execute the best possible economic development strategy for their particular community.
Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond said: “Economic development and diversification is critical to the sustainability of our communities. By having a single, centralized repository of searchable business information, government is providing communities with a tool to guide them through the process of creating and executing an economic development strategy.”
The BC Jobs Plan, launched in September 2011, aims to strengthen the most competitive sectors in BC by making use of the province’s skilled, educated workforce to help its economy diversify, strengthen and grow.
While aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in British Columbia can use the BC Economic Development Portal to identify opportunities, a University Canada West (UCW) master of business administration (MBA) degree can give individuals looking to make their way in business the edge when it comes to taking advantage of such opportunities.
The UCW MBA program develops student entrepreneurship into graduate employability through business education and corporate training, providing the basis for successful careers in Canada.
Source:
