National Economic Development Week (EDW), created by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), is a campaign running from May 7-11, 2019. Aimed at increasing awareness of local programs that create jobs, advance career development opportunities, and increase quality of life, the EDW campaign has been running since 2016 and has seen over 500 campaigns throughout the United States and Canada.})
This year, the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) wants to spread the word about economic development here in London, Ontario, and raise awareness about local businesses, programs, and support services that are creating a positive economic impact - and we want you to join the conversation! How can you do that?
- Share this article with your networks
- Retweet our EDW content on Twitter throughout the week
- Post your own messaging for EDW using #EDW2018 on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Share your impact, contributions, and involvement in building London’s economy
What is economic development?
It’s the growth of local businesses. It’s the attraction of new investment. It’s the development of our workforce and the support of a scale-up, entrepreneurship environment. Economic development is many things, and it will vary depending upon the organization, however the common thread is to deliver prosperity - to ensure that people have job opportunities and growing businesses have the supports they need to succeed, while also creating a high quality of life and reasonable cost of living.
Who’s involved & what’s the impact?})
LEDC grows London’s economy through the attraction of new investment, the acceleration of local small, medium, and large-sized businesses, and the development of skilled talent. We do this in a number of ways, including:
- Fostering scale-up activity and long-term growth of existing businesses
- Attracting new investment and jobs into the city of London
- Leading workforce development, attracting skilled talent, and connecting people to careers
- Championing positive economic dialogue with internal and external stakeholders
Last year was a record year for London and LEDC, as we welcomed a historic investment from Maple Leaf Foods to build a facility here in London. In 2018, LEDC helped facilitate $870 million in company expansions and investments, and 3,100 jobs added.
Economic development is not a one-size-fits-all approach. LEDC is the lead economic development agency for London, Canada, however, there are many organizations, institutions, and agencies that all play a role in supporting and growing London’s economy. Read about some of them below:
- City of London leads initiatives such as the Industrial Lands Strategy that are driving economic growth. Since developing the lands strategy with LEDC in 2001, 620 acres of land have been sold, generating an estimated municipal tax revenue of more than $6.1 million a year. The City recently purchased another 70 acres for $4.2 million to continue driving growth in our industrial areas.
- London Chamber of Commerce is an advocate for local business and facilitates opportunities for member businesses to promote themselves locally and regionally, at events such as Summit and the Business Achievement Awards. Their team leads initiatives that positively influence London’s social and economic landscape.
- London Convention Centre hosted 301 events that had an economic impact of $21.3 million, with an average convention delegate spending $341 per day on accommodations, transportation, food, beverage, and shopping in London in 2018.
- London International Airport posted another year of record-breaking growth in 2018. They welcomed more than 537K passengers, a 3.1% increase over 2017, and have added non-stop flights to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax. Recently, the airport launched Plane Talk, a coordinated effort led by many of the organizations you see in this list to inform our region of the new flights from London, and encourage they fly local. The message is clear – use it, or lose it.
- Tourism London attracted the Juno Awards in 2019, in addition to the Country Music Association of Ontario’s award show in 2017 and again in 2018, and a number of other events that are putting London on the map. Tourism London is driving the culture sector forward, which contributes ~$540 million per annum.
Small business and entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial activities contribute to significant job creation throughout Canada, and in London, more than 20,000 entrepreneurs fuel our economy through the wealth they generate, the talent they hire, and the innovative technologies and services they offer. Below you’ll find a number of organizations dedicated to fueling entrepreneurial and small business growth in London:
- Service Business London is the City of London’s online resource for starting a business, where you can review business development process steps, create a personal checklist to help keep you on track, and connect with resource providers.
- Small Business Centre is a one-stop source for starting a business, providing thousands of entrepreneurs with the training and support necessary to start and grow successful businesses. Last year their team held 1,500+ one-on-one consultations, supported 271 start-ups, and helped facilitate 317 new jobs.
- Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO) engages all of the Francophone and bilingual community’s stakeholders to foster economic development, entrepreneurship, employability, and immigration.
- TechAlliance provides no-cost services to qualified startup companies and entrepreneurs, helping them move from idea to operating business. They offer strategy support, business planning, and market intelligence to name a few, and their members can access additional expertise, seed funding, educational programs, workshops, and events.
- Downtown London leads programs and investments that make our core a destination of choice and an economic centre that supports the entire community. In 2018, Downtown London supported 52 new business openings supported while visiting 300 member businesses, and completing 15 projects focused on heritage and urban design. Read more about their economic impact and downtown growth here.
- Pillar Nonprofit Network is increasing awareness of non-profits and social enterprises as social and economic drivers, supporting more than 610 organizations and companies by sharing resources, exchanging knowledge, and creating meaningful connections across non-profit, business, and government. Pillar created Innovation Works – a 32,000 square-foot co-working space in downtown London designed for social innovators.
- Our post-secondary schools have Campus-Linked Accelerators, including Propel Entrepreneurship and Leap Junction, which are helping student entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a reality.
- In addition, there are a number of additional organizations, such as Ontario Centres of Excellence, which works with entrepreneurs to help create new jobs, products, services, and technologies, in addition to the Southwestern Ontario Angels Group (SWO Angels), which connects entrepreneurs to angel investors.
Workforce development
London and area companies rely heavily on our city’s talent to help their business grow, innovate, and stay ahead of changing markets. Check out who’s helping to better connect jobseekers to employers, and why they are vital to our economy:
- Employment Sector Council is a collaborative network of more than 40 member organizations which work together to provide high-quality, consistent employment and training services across the southwestern Ontario region. They launched the Job Developers Network, which is a forum for job developers and community employment organizations to meet, discuss, and share information and opportunities. There are more than 80 job developer staff from 24 organizations, which you can explore here.
- CTV London alongside many workforce, government, and community partners launched London & Area Works in 2015, a one-stop web portal that provides jobseekers with advice and tips on getting hired, job opportunities currently available in the region, training workshops, and a weekly video series highlighting growing, hiring companies. This initiative led to the London & Area Works Job Fair, which runs twice annually and brings together employers and jobseekers to discover and share opportunities.
- London’s post-secondary institutions, including Fanshawe College, Collègé Boréal, Western University and its affiliates – King’s, Ivey, and Brescia – in addition to a number of private and vocational schools, are significant economic drivers, both in the number of students they attract to London and the programs they provide to help train and educate students for the workforce. Their respective job boards help students connect to opportunities, and help employers share their open positions.
- The Local Employment Planning Council is a workforce planning partnership, developed by the Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning and Development Board and Literacy Link South Central, which develops the local labour market through building solutions and engaging multi-stakeholder alliances.
- You can explore a number of additional non-profit and private agencies dedicated to workforce development in LEDC’s Concierge.
- Immploy is an employer-focused organization that connects hiring employers to immigrant talent for economic prosperity. They link you to effective immigrant employment tools and resources, including recruitment / job-matching services, mentoring programs, screening support, and connections with other businesses who have successfully attracted and retained immigrant talent.
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These are just some of the many economic drivers in our city. From healthcare and post-secondary institutions, to research facilities, local businesses, entertainment venues, and non-profit agencies - the list goes on. There are a host of people and companies involved in economic development, whether they realize it or not!
Londoner’s, you are involved too. In the jobs and volunteering opportunities you take on, in the family you raise in one of London’s unique neighbourhoods, in the local shopping you do, and in the stories you share. So thank you for choosing London and helping to fuel the local economy!
How can I get involved?
There are many ways you can stay engaged about economic development and get involved through the LEDC:
- Attend local events and workshops
- Share success stories using any platforms at your disposal
- Explore our website to learn about local organizations, resources, and facts about London you may not have known about before
- Read all about local businesses in our new, free London Magazine – look for the ‘Order Free Magazine on all of our web pages to order your copies today
- Contact us on our sector pages if you’re a growing, hiring, or need business support
- Stay in the loop about local business news, events, and recognitions by signing up for our newsletter
- Reach out! If you’re looking to get involved and aren’t sure how, we’d be happy to chat with you about other opportunities
Thank you for reading and happy Economic Development Week!
