The City of Prince George is seeking the input of local businesses as part of a labour force analysis being conducted to understand how to increase and diversify the workforce to support the expansion of existing businesses. According to the city’s recent Business Insights Report, numerous employers in Prince George have reported that they are having difficulty filling vacant positions locally and attracting people from other communities to fill vacancies. The analysis is being conducted by MDB Insight, an economic development consultancy.
“The city greatly values the perspectives and insights of the business community,” said Melissa Barcellos, Manager of Economic Development. “The results of this survey will inform the city’s strategies and initiatives that will support greater alignment between talent supply and workforce demand in the city of Prince George.”
MDB will provide the city with a detailed overview of the existing workforce situation, including the identification of high demand occupations within existing and potential future businesses, an examination of commuting patterns, in-migration and e-migration, and an identification of regions that serve as a source for labour supply that is in demand locally.
The City anticipates multiple benefits from the study, including:
- Greater alignment of supply and demand.
- Talent attraction and retention strategies for local businesses.
- Strategies to retain post-secondary graduates.
- Improving business competitiveness and the attraction of foreign direct investment to expand the local economy and the competitiveness of the City.
The survey will take about 12 to 15 minutes to complete. All responses are aggregated so individual answers will not be shared beyond the consulting firm under contract to support this research initiative. Business operators interested in filling out the survey are asked to email the city economic development division.