Issue link: http://tourismwpg.uberflip.com/i/1179500
Letter from the editors Dear readers, Winnipeg is evolving, and so is Economic Development Winnipeg Inc. We are working to better serve industry needs. It's an exciting time at Economic Developement Winnipeg as our business development team, YES! Winnipeg, is growing and pivoting to make talent attraction, development and retention a central part of what we do. Talent is a priority for us, because we know it's a priority for you. And it's why the 2020 Winnipeg Investor is focused on talent in our city and how we can best prepare our companies to attract, retain and develop the best people to help build the best companies. It's also a great reminder of why YES! Winnipeg exists. It was created by the private sector to sell our great city to the world, leveraging our competitive advantages to help companies grow and attract new investment. But the world has changed. Talent doesn't follow investment anymore, at least not the way it used to. In today's world, the inverse is true – investment follows talent – and we need to continually understand, adapt and adjust to North American labour market trends if we are to be relevant to our local clients and potential foreign investors. All of whom cite talent availability as a key decision factor in making large investment decisions Our investor council has supported our activity in this area, as limited access to talent in key areas of Winnipeg's economy is holding back economic growth. The Winnipeg Investor will highlight our ambitious multi-year plan to attract, retain and produce the best talent in this city and along with it – the best companies. We profile the creative approaches taken by leading companies in Winnipeg to attract the best talent, and we hope that their unique approach to addressing human resource needs will inspire you to tackle your own talent challenges. We are building out our service offering in the talent space, and we plan to learn as we go – from you, our business community – because we need to listen to your needs if we are to effectively address them. We have refocused our team to help us execute our plan and we've applied for, and received, funding from the municipal, provincial and federal governments to compound the impact of every investor dollar. YES! Winnipeg continues to evolve with the support of the city, provincial and federal governments and, of course, you – our expanding investor community. A unique partnership between government and the private sector makes our efforts to grow the local economy possible. The Manitoba Government's Economic Growth Action Plan names Economic Development Winnipeg as its key regional partner for Winnipeg, and we're proud to be part of a coordinated approach to unlock and pursue economic opportunity for our province. The support of Winnipeg's close-knit business community is itself a competitive advantage. We share relentless optimism regarding the economic future of our city and we look forward to continued work with our YES! Winnipeg investor community as we lead and influence Winnipeg's continued evolution. We are all in this together. Doug Harvey, Dayna Spiring and Ryan Kuffner Co-editors, The Winnipeg Investor YES! WINNIPEG 5