Strategic action items to benefit manufacturing businesses in Belleville
The BR+E report proposes 26 action items which focus primarily on attracting, retaining and increasing the supply of manufacturing labour in Belleville, including helping employers use immigration programs that lead to PR status and promoting manufacturing as a viable career to Belleville’s youth and promoting Belleville as a great place to live.
It recommends the City continue with a number of programs including the Bridge Integrated Care Hub, doctor recruitment and community clean-up initiatives.
It also points out the need for diverse housing solutions to address the lack of housing available for employees and asks the City to improve the transparency and understanding of their development processes.
What is a Business Retention and Expansion project?
A Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) program is a process that municipalities undertake to better understand businesses in their communities and identify and support the current and future needs of its business community.
Community volunteers are trained to visit businesses and conduct confidential face-to-face interviews interviews with senior management and owners guided by a BR+E coordinator from the City’s Economic Development staff. Participation is completely voluntary and confidential.
It helps support businesses by helping a municipality to learn about issues as well as opportunities for local business and identifies priority projects that will address these needs.
It can target a particular business sector or can be applied broadly to all businesses. In the past, the City of Belleville has carried out BR+Es focused on Tourism, Construction and Health Care among many others.
The result is an Action Plan, which is presented at a public meeting. The Action Plan informs the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan and investment attraction activities, as well as the City’s budget planning process.
A BR+E project is considered a best practice economic development tool that is used worldwide by municipalities to understand businesses in their community. The result is a final report and action plan presented at a public meeting that forms a key part of a municipalities’ ongoing economic development strategy. Through face-to-face interviews municipalities receive timely and important information to help identify and support the current and future needs of its business community
Past Belleville BR+E projects
Some of the changes that have been made as a result of past BR+E projects include:
- Family physician recruitment program.
- “Work in Quinte” labour attraction initiative
- Transportation improvements including intersection changes, new linkages, road improvements and transit routes.
- Infrastructure improvements including new water mains, increased water pressure, sanitary sewer extensions, fibre optic service extensions.
- Downtown Community Improvement Plans (CIP)
- Business Park signage installations
- Training programs with community partners geared to the needs of local business.
The purpose is to better understand the challenges and opportunities our manufacturers are facing in a post-COVID environment, and to support future business park planning.
Timeline
November 13, 2024 – Final Report to be presented to Council for approval
October 24, 2024 – Draft BR+E report presented to the Economic Development Committee
The task force committee recruited and trained 28 community volunteers to interview 38 out of 44 industry partners identified to participate in the Prosper Belleville BR+E. This represents an 86% participation rate overall and a very engaged audience. Interviews took place over a four-month period from October 2023 to January 2024.
Top 3 advantages of doing business in Belleville were:
- Proximity to 401
- Quality of life
- Welcoming business environment
As demographics change in the City of Belleville, responding manufacturers have made adjustments to the way they do business:
- Flexible work arrangements
- Supporting equity, diversity and inclusion
- Employment benefit programs
Top 3 ways that manufacturers indicated the community could assist were:
- Attracting/retaining labour
- Assistance with city services and processes
- Providing information and services
Top 3 disadvantages of doing business in Belleville:
- Labour/workforce issues
- Lack of affordable housing
- City services and processes
June 2024 – “Prosper Belleville” manufacturing BR+E scheduled to be completed
May 22, 2024 – BR+E data retreat
On May 23, 2024, 18 industry partners and 30 community stakeholders – including City staff from Engineering and Developmental Services, Transportation and Operational Services and the CAO’s office – met as part of a Data Retreat to formulate strategic action items that would shape the direction of the City’s initiatives to support manufacturing in Belleville.
The participants were welcomed by Mayor Neil Ellis and the retreat was facilitated by Karen Fischer, Economic and Business Advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Kent Fitzhugh, Senior Business Advisor for the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT) and Victoria Watts, Business Growth and Retention Specialist for the City of Belleville Economic Development division.
August 2023 – BR+E project starts to “engage our manufacturers to understand the challenges, gaps and opportunities they face in operating and growing their business within our City”
Volunteer task force members:
- Rick Jeffrey, Task Force Chair
- Chris King, Quinte Economic Development Commission
- Brian Pennell, Loyalist College
- Jill Raycroft, Belleville Chamber of Commerce
- Jack Alexander, Community Volunteer, member of the Committee of Adjustment
- Chris Ripley, Community Volunteer
- Barb Tait, Community Volunteer
June 5, 2023 – Ford government grants $51,024 for Belleville Industrial Sector BR+E project through Rural Economic Development (RED) program
February 27, 2023 – Council approves applying to Rural Economic Development for $51,024 for a Manufacturing BR+E project
Our objectives for the Industrial BR+E will be to:
- Reconnect with our manufacturers in a post-COVID environment to identify their challenges and opportunities.
- Support our local manufacturers so they can grow, create jobs and stay in our community. Identify opportunities to strengthen our manufacturers supply chains to inform future investment attraction activities as we prepare to expand our industrial park.
- Write and implement an action plan to foster business development, investment and job creation.
- Collect business and market data to support the development of our Economic Development Strategic Plan.
2012 – Last manufacturing BR+E
Contact
If you have questions or want to learn how you can get involved, please contact Victoria Watts, Business Growth and Retention Specialist at 613-967-5260 or email: [email protected].
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