Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario – August 19, 2014 – The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership has received $248,450 in funding from Employment Ontario. The funding will be provided through a Labour Market Partnership Project, and will be used to examine the potential for job creation, skills training, and local economic and community development. The project will look specifically at Social Enterprise as a development model for new and different businesses.
The 18-month project will identify promising opportunities within the creative industries, and will work to match those opportunities with entrepreneurs and appropriate sources of funding, including the Social Enterprise co-operative model, to create robust new businesses in Sarnia-Lambton.
Creative industries include engineering and information technology, as well as the performing arts, graphic design, and content creation. This has become a growing sector across Sarnia-Lambton. Project partners will undertake asset mapping through the assistance of $30,000 in funding from the County, to catalogue the current extent and reach of creative industries throughout Lambton County.
“The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership research project offers great potential for new jobs and investment,” said Reza Maridi, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “Employment Ontario’s investment will help unlock the Sarnia-Lambton region’s economic potential and lead the way to a more dynamic and innovative business environment.”
“Lambton County’s creative class has been gaining momentum for a number of years,” states Lambton County Warden Todd Case. “This funding comes at the right time to build on Lambton County’s new cultural plan.”
Economic Partnership Chair, Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, noted that the funding will assist the economic development office in working with one of its targeted sectors. “This funding fits well with our strategy of growing our creative class, and we look forward to putting the money to good use.”
As a local economic development tool, the project will benefit a number of groups including employers, entrepreneurs, and job seekers:
* The project will engage the business and entrepreneurial community and will create a better understanding of the potential benefits of alternative business structures such as co-ops.
* Local entrepreneurs will learn new methods of organizing their businesses, potentially resulting in more quantity, quality, and diversity in Sarnia-Lambton business start-ups.
* Particularly in Sarnia-Lambton’s smaller rural communities, the project is expected to create better use of human resources and commercial properties that are presently underutilized.
A steering committee will be established during the project to continue this work beyond the project’s 18 month timeline.
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For further information contact:
Ted Zatylny
Project Leader LMP
Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
ted@www.sarnialambton.on.ca
519-332-1820, extension 224