Across Canada, individuals with disabilities experience lower employment rates and earnings than the rest of the population. Despite being well-educated and eager to work, these individuals are often turned away by employers. There’s a misconception among employers that hiring workers with a disability involves expensive accommodation costs and a lower return-on-investment. This could not be…
Waste has been a growing concern across Ontario for over 40 years. Despite the desire to reduce our garbage output, Ontarian’s generate over 12 million tonnes of food and commercial waste per year. To mitigate this issue, the government has focused its efforts on “waste diversion”, which helps prevent waste from ending up in landfills…
This article is the 1st of a 3-part series on automotive trends: Part 1: Intelligent Mobility Part 2: Manufacturing Materials and Processes Part 3: Alternative Vehicle Propulsion Systems Vehicle automation, connectivity, and mobility services are automotive technology trends that have been around for decades. The industry has experienced profound advancements from a significant acceleration in…
Building a team of top talent is one of the greatest challenges facing business leaders. Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report suggests that talent acquisition is the third most pressing challenge for companies to solve, and PLANT Magazine’s 2017 Outlook survey revealed that five of the greatest challenges businesses face all stem from recruiting…
The Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey is a quarterly summary of interviews conducted between the bank and approximately 100 senior managers from businesses across Canada. The report’s purpose is to gather the perspectives of business leaders on topics such as demand, capacity pressures, and other economic indicators. Although it is a small sample size,…
How strategic partnerships provide synergistic benefits and access to government funding. When strategizing ways to grow and boost competitiveness, very few companies consider working with external organizations. But whether for short-term projects or long-term relationships, collaborations can build synergistic benefits for all who’re involved and greatly improve the potential for success. Partnering with other businesses…
Creating a plan for accessing Canadian government funding is a critical component of proper cash flow planning for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although this is one of the most important phases of the government funding process, the variety and complexity of programs requires businesses to have accurate, up-to-date information and resources in order to…
Innovation is critical to the long-term success of agri-food producers and processors. Whether it’s developing a new disease-resistant strain of crop, modifying product ingredients, or redesigning packaging, consistently innovating products or processes will help to remain competitive in an increasingly complex marketplace. Although large agri-food companies can innovate internally, smaller food businesses often lack the…
The Government of Ontario has projected that by 2019 a total of 323,000 jobs will be created, but many of these positions will go unfilled. This is mainly attributed to employers’ inability to find properly trained and/or educated candidates to fill their roles. This growing challenge has made it difficult for business owners to develop…
If you’re launching a startup or expanding your small business, the ground rules are much the same: you need to be highly visible online, and you must build a brand that people connect with. Instant recognition of a logo and developing global brands can take millions of dollars to achieve, but you can grab a…