The Central Okanagan’s business climate is strong with plenty of growth, however companies are having a hard time finding staff.
Those were among the results of the 6th Annual Small Business Walk held across the Central Okanagan earlier this year by the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission.
According to the results of the business walks in Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, the Westbank First Nation and in Lake Country 78 per cent of the 221 businesses surveyed indicated that business is growing.
Fourty-one per cent of those businesses also cited staffing challenges with positions in demand ranging from entry level to highly skilled.
“The Business Walk continues to be a valuable tool for the COEDC and its partners and stakeholders to connect directly with businesses in the region to identify their needs, and identify areas for future programming,” said Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission manager, Corie Griffiths.
The COEDC and 13 partner organizations embarked on the region’s 6th annual Small Business Walk where volunteers went door to door to businesses in communities from Lake Country to Peachland to listen to business owners and ask a few key questions to capture the pulse of the small business community.
This year’s walk included questions about employee retention and recruitment challenges, as well as the impact of fires and flooding in the region.
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