The Town of Whitecourt is rolling out its plans for 2022.
At the Town’s Jan. 10 meeting, council approved the Town’s Strategic Economic Plan.
The plan leads with three priorities to be completed in the next few months.
The first is to implement business and retention expansion strategies. This is to be completed by supporting an application for Business Support Network grant funding to the Province.
Second is encouraging investment attraction across key sectors. The main goal here is to develop a “Starting a Business in Whitecourt” webpage with simplified steps, offering resources, and allowing people to apply for a business permit online.
Whitecourt mayor Tom Pickard says that the website will simply be building upon services the Town already offers.
“The easiest analogy is when you are putting together IKEA furniture. The first one is real tough, but after you have done it three or four times, it becomes easy,” explains Pickard. “What we are trying to do is exploit the expertise we have in-house to make sure that the people going through the process the first time get the resources and help they need to make it that much easier.”
The third is to encourage partnerships and initiatives that advance skills attraction and enhance the education and training landscape. This will be carried out by exploring opportunities for a Regional Employer and Workforce Co-Lab initiative with an office in Whitecourt.
Pickard says this is about building partnerships with existing services in the community.
“We see people working for local industry utilizing these services, and it is something we want to keep working on,” says Pickard.
The plan also includes broader goals, like participating in more trade shows, and enhancing Whitecourt’s downtown core.
