HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-27 EDAC Minutes
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
June 27, 2018 City of Kitchener
The Economic Development Advisory Committee met on this date, commencing at 11:08 a.m.
Members: Mark Bingeman, Councillor Scott Davey, Margaret Johnston, Barry Lowry, Shirley Madill,
Sandra O’Hagan, Councillor Paul Singh (Chair), Barclay Whittaker, Anthony Zammit
Staff in attendance: Brian Bennett, Cory Bluhm, Valerie Bradford, Chloe Howell, Lauren Nelson
Delegations: Paul Osborne;
Associate Vice-President, Marketing and Community Relations, Conestoga College
Business Items
1. Conestoga College’s Economic Impact on the Community – Paul Osborne
P. Osborne showed the committee a brief video giving an overview of Conestoga College’s influence on the
region.
th
Since celebrating its 50 anniversary in January 2017, Conestoga College staff thought it important to try and
capture the economic impact that Conestoga College has in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Stratford
and hired Larry Smith to help with this task.
A few highlights of the presentation:
Conestoga is very intentional about combining pathways to universities and currently offers 26 degree
programs.
54.6% of local adults have studied or trained at Conestoga.
More than 3,500 local businesses are owned by Conestoga College graduates.
Continuing education 8-10 years ago was focused more on hobbies such as cooking, but now they
see an increase in people upgrading their skills for career advancement.
Conestoga gets feedback from industry experts through Program Advisory Committees (PACs) to
discuss industry needs and give input about college programs. This ensures that graduates are as
career-ready as possible.
For co-op and field placements, industries are “opening the doors for co-op students”
65% of graduates settle in the community and contribute $2.3 billion annually to the local economy.
$55 million budgeted towards the new building on University Avenue, to house it and the culinary
school.
This region is the fourth largest settlement area in Canada for new Canadians; Conestoga offers
support to these families as they get used to life here.
Expansions include their Brantford campus and partnering with Wilfred Laurier University for a new
campus in Milton.
“Local students cannot meet the need”, so Conestoga markets their programs to international
students. There is more research coming on the retention rate for international students. Co-op
placements really help because the students tend to get hired, and end up staying here and
contributing to the economy.
Conestoga has trained more than half the healthcare workers in the area.
1
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
June 27, 2018 City of Kitchener
Questions / Comments from the committee:
Why would Conestoga College focus so much on branching out into other communities, and how can you
make Kitchener more attractive? Kitchener as the main branch is the largest of all their campuses and
schools two thirds of total Conestoga students. They are always looking to grow and sometimes
partnerships present themselves, i.e. partnering with Laurier in Milton.
They have to internationalize the campus for growth. Statistics for the number of international students
are approximately: five years ago: 400, two years ago: 1,500, currently: 4,000.
Is student housing a problem? Not in Kitchener, but in Brantford it is an issue.
How does Conestoga College market to international students? Conestoga enjoys a good reputation
internationally. Approximately 70% of international students come from India, as the government there
approves 98% of people who apply and are eligible to come to Canada. Conestoga College also has in-
market representatives promoting the college.
Where do you envision Conestoga College ten years from now? A very large footprint with campuses
starting and growing in Milton, Stratford and Ingersoll. A “powerhouse polytechnic that will call Kitchener
home.”
Conestoga realizes that university is a good option, but not everyone can afford the tuition or get high
enough marks to be accepted. They want to be “an institution of affordability” with doors open for
everyone and give people who might have been disengaged opportunities for their future.
There is land for growth at the Doon and Cambridge campuses. There is a need for space seeing as the
college is “applied education” and almost every course has a lab component.
The committee thanked Paul Osborne for his presentation.
2. Waterloo Region Manufacturing Innovation Network – Valerie Bradford
V. Bradford gave an executive summary of the “Manufacturing Job Fair” held in June 2018. There were 25
employers looking to fill over 600 jobs, 450 of which were Toyota. Approximately 660 job seekers showed up
to the event. Promotion for the job fair included mobile signs in 15 strategic locations, outdoor advertisements,
personal networks, social media and radio.
They gave attendees a survey to provide feedback, and the overall response was that both job seekers and
potential employers were very impressed with the caliber of opportunities. There were two translators on site
from the Multicultural Centre to help address the culturally diverse needs of the group. The Region had a
booth to educate people on available child care services, realizing this might be a barrier to getting jobs for
many people.
More follow up required at a later date to determine just how well the job fair worked in terms of connecting
people with jobs, but overall people really saw the value of the Manufacturing Innovation Network and the job
fair.
Further education is needed to make sure people know there are a lot of jobs available, from entry level to
management. A “manufacturing job fair” might conjure up the image of a “routine line work” but it includes any
position to do with manufacturing, it could be HR, accounting, quality control etc.
2
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
June 27, 2018 City of Kitchener
Updates
1. Make it Kitchener progress report
Lauren Nelson presented the committee with handouts outlining progress made on action items in the Make it
Kitchener strategy. This strategy was approved in late 2015 and set 54 action items related to six pillars:
Make it Spark, Make it Start, Make it Grow, Make it Urban, Make it Vibrant, Make it Connect. Of the 102
outcomes, the vast majority are done or ongoing.
2. Other updates / Roundtable before summer break
C. Bluhm addressed the recent Manulife Financial consolidation to their Waterloo office, impacting Kitchener
by making available Class A office space in the downtown core. This is part of Manulife’s Canadian-wide
restructuring and will decrease the Canadian workforce by 700-900 people. There is around 350,000 square
feet of available office space, renovated two years ago and now is essentially move in ready. Exit date around
the end of 2019.
Council approved the Breithaupt Block 3 development, showing that Council is supportive of the transition into
downtown from residential. Other future developments include the Drewlo buildings at Cedar Street. It will
take approximately four years to build out both towers, and will include ground level retail on King Street East.
B. Bennett informed the committee that the City of Kitchener sold their last piece of industrial land – 37 acres
on Strasburg Road, with a net serviced area of around 28 acres. There is a demand for industrial property,
the vacancy rate is now under 2% and officially the City has no more industrial land to sell.
Regarding Catalyst137, M. Johnston was wondering how much of the building was leased. B. Bennett
answered that it was about 80% full with a good cross section of tenants.
M. Bingeman suggested the City of Kitchener looks into regulations surrounding licensing for events, as the
regulatory environment can be a barrier to participate for some vendors. Since this community is trying to
create events, it would be in our interest to make the process as easy and frictionless as possible.
M. Johnston asked if the change in provincial government might affect the Toyota announcement of a $1.4
billion expansion of its Canadian operations, creating 450 jobs. B. Bennett said that because the negotiations
and legal paperwork surrounding this deal were conducted months in advance, the funding is unlikely to be
affected.
B. Bennett gave an overview of the Canada’s Innovation Corridor Summit 2018 event. There is a big
intersection between tech and manufacturing, and the summit emphasized the benefits of collaborating with
each other.
Requests for future discussion items include:
Kitchener’s exposure to potential trade war issues
A more thorough look at the impact of arts and culture on economic development
High speed rail
What the updated highway to Guelph will mean to our local economy
Housing affordability, intensification and forecasting rental availability
Attracting people to the region
Meeting adjourned at 1:05 p.m.
3