– Tom Dyas is the President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. To find out more information about the organization please visit www.kelownachamber.org.
KELOWNA – January started off its usual way for our local business community – busy! After the break, it seems everyone was so recharged that getting onto a work schedule happened in the first week of the year. At the Chamber, it was no different.
There’s so much going on, I’ll just hit some of our early 2017 highlights. January saw our first Okanagan College luncheon series of the New Year: ‘Women of Wine’. We took a closer look at the myriad of women now working in the wine industry.
About 50% of university grads in wine programs are now female, although the female winemaker quotient in North America is lower: 10-15%. (James Lawrence, Wine News January 2017). We hosted the award-winning Sandra Oldfield, CEO at Tinhorn; Elaine Triggs, COO at Culmina, and Ann Sperling, Winemaker/Owner at Sperling and Southbrook.
Wine writer and expert John Shreiner moderated the sold-out luncheon, wine tasting and book signing at the Kelowna Yacht Club who hosted the sold-out lunch and wine tasting with perfect food and service.
We also partnered with the Conference Board of Canada in presenting Western Business Outlook: Kelowna, with an especial emphasis on agrarian issues, including wineries and tree fruit. It was a stellar half-day, packed with information from this first visit of the Board to our city. We got an in-depth look at the economic conditions of Canada, BC and Kelowna, how they interact with the global economy, and where business is headed in 2017.
In February, we host the Mayor of Kelowna, Colin Basran. It will be another sold out event, as the Mayor speaks to “The State of the City”. Which, of course, as the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission describes Kelowna on its home page is ‘Canada’s Fastest Growing Metro Area.’ No wonder we are staying busy at the Chamber.
In other news, the housing industry pumped almost a half billion dollars into the local economy in 2016 wages. The Canadian Home Builders Association, Kelowna chapter, compiled the figures: 7,000 on- and offsite jobs meant a wage packet totalling $400 million plus.
Another bonus is the investment value added to the city’s infrastructure: $800 million new dollars. Overall, we enjoyed a 72 per cent leap in housing starts year over year, a figure unlikely to be repeated in 2017 according to the Association, because it was such a big leap.
While I’m talking about labour, I couldn’t help but note the December stats for net job growth: 10,700 net jobs added in Canada in November, which dropped the unemployment rate down to 6.8 per cent. Winter generally sees a slide in job numbers, so the January stats likely won’t be at that level; we’ll have to see. Statistics Canada is always my go-source for this monthly check-up.
The Bank of Canada is holding steady on its benchmark interest rate (0.5 per cent) released mid-January. The central bank remains bullish on Canada economic growth predictions, last released in October prior to the US federal election. But the Bank is wary of looming US protectionist policies, as are hundreds of our members locally.
While GDP is still predicted to grow nationally this year, some slowdowns in BC’s rate, due to tightening real estate sales, is on the calendar. With a provincial election on May 9, some local market incentives seem probable. We saw the new ‘First Time Buyers’ interest-free loan program roll out which should be a modest shot in the arm for developers and real estate, a key economic indicator locally.
Another local driver is technology. The Okanagan Young Professionals Collective continues to ramp up its efforts to attract youthful high-tech workers to Kelowna. The Collective works closely with many organizations locally: the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, and Accelerate Okanagan, to name two.
The OYP Collective has just published a ‘lure’ piece touting our region’s distinctive qualities. AO’s CEO, Raghwa Gopal is outspoken in his predictions for tech: he believes it will outstrip real estate and retail to become the biggest economic driver in the next ten years.
Numbers from the OYP Collective prove that the Okanagan is a tech hub of 633 companies and 7,000 employees, generating an annual economic money mountain totalling $1.3 billion. Teaching techies who live and work elsewhere that they want to move to Kelowna to live and work is job one for AO, the OYP Collective, and city promoters.
“The tech industry itself is a sleeping giant,” says Gopal.
Last but not least is the new co-op grant announced by SIDIT (Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust) with The University of BC Okanagan.
SIDIT announced a $50,000 grant in January, which gives regional companies access and financial support to UBC’s best and brightest co-op students. The program offers $5,000 grants to businesses through supporting regional recruitment efforts. The program has grown from 25 students in year one to 80 students in year two (2017).
Preference is given to small- to medium-sized enterprises, and has a particular focus on agriculture, forestry, pine beetle recovery, transportation, tourism, mining, small business, economic development and energy. Sounds perfect for the Okanagan valley. There is a ton of information and application forms online through either www.coop.ok.ubc.ca or www.sidit.ca.
We look forward to seeing our members and meeting non-members at our upcoming events this month.