A joint communication from the Town of Blackfalds, the Town of Sylvan Lake, the County of Red Deer, and the City of Red Deer

Regional Approach to Economic Development Revealed

A new Regional Labour Force Profile has been developed for central Alberta as a collaborative effort by the Town of Blackfalds, the City of Red Deer, Red Deer County, the Town of Sylvan Lake and the Province of Alberta – Ministry of Labour and Immigration.

The profile will provide superior labour force information to businesses that are considering growth, expansion, or new development or markets, as well as to prospective entrepreneurs and companies thinking of locating in or starting up in the region.

“We can better support and encourage appropriate workforce development intiaitives when we work together. In this case each of the four communities contributed $4,000 to the project to match the funds secured through the provincial Labour Market Partnership Program (LMP).”Jennifer Hartigh, Project Lead

“Having accurate and up-to-date labour information is often a key factor when new employers are choosing locations, or when existing employers want to expand. We’re pleased to be able to partner with municipalities to help provide this critical intelligence for central Alberta as part of our commitment to create jobs and expand our economy.”
Jason Copping, Minister of Labour and Immigration

The area that the four communities represent accounts for 226,396 Albertans, 68% of whom are of working age. This Regional Labour Profile is an important resource to help the region continue to grow, and sustain both the businesses, and families, that call this region ‘home’.

Please refer to the attached Regional Profile for detailed information.

BACKGROUNDER

• In 2018, Economic Development Officers from the communities of Blackfalds, Red Deer, SylvanLake and Red Deer County approached the provincial Ministry of Labour to partner on a project resulting in the creation of a Regional Labour Force Profile. The communities were lacking in- depth and current data to share with businesses interested in expanding or diversifying or for investors, educational institutes, and entrepreneurs to use in creating and forecasting business plan development.
• In late 2018, the Ministry of Labour awarded an LMP grant to the Town of Blackfalds, as the project leader and administrator.
• Each partnering municipality contributed $4,000 toward the project, and by doing so was able to leverage $31,250 in LMP funding from the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada.
• Data for the Regional Labour Profile was acquired from several sources, including: 2001 to 2016 federal Census from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Business Registry – 2013 and 2018, SuperDemographics 2018 from Manifold Data Mining Inc., EMSI Analyst 2018 Q3, and local municipal census data as available. Consultation with relevant stakeholders also informed the information included in the Regional Labour Profile.
• Conversations with representatives from Olds College, Red Deer College, Burman University, Express Employment, and Manpower were used to confirm the skills and labour data acquired, and also to uncover opportunities to develop new programming to meet the needs of the regional business community.

Region At A Glance

• The region accounts for 226,396 Albertans, of whom 68% are of working age (15 to 64).
• Residents have an average employment income slightly lower than the provincial figure (-4%); however, more than half of the population between the ages of 25 to 64 has completed some form of post secondary education.
• The regional economy, which grew by 5% between 2013 and 2018, sustains over 119,000 jobs. The region boasts a higher participation and employment rate compared to the rest of the province.
• When looking at the number of jobs versus the number of workers in the region, a large surplus of workers was found within the following occupational groups:
• o trades,
  o transport and equipment operators
  o management,
  o education,
  o law, social, community and government services.
• Residents with the skills and talent to work in these occupations may work outside the region. Conversely, the region has a gap of approximately 270 workers to support natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations. This gap is likely filled by workers coming in from outside of the region.Attached you will find the Regional Labour Profile. For local profiles, contact the municipalities directly.