On the evening of August 12 2011 Kimberley Promotions sent out a survey to 200 folks. About 80 responded - reading the survey results is very interesting. Generally speaking the survey respondents were mostly female with a (generally speaking) age demographic between 30-49ish. Page 47 of the fall issue of Go Kimberley gives the complete breakdown of respondents. Have a look, its very well presented (as are all the articles in Go Kimberley, I must add ).
One of the main issues in the survey is certainly the economy and the need for more economic development/diversity away from low-paying, seasonal tourism - type jobs.
One way to attract job growth to make sure city economic development staff have a clear mandate about the type of light industry that would be a good "fit" for our community. Here is an example of how this sales pitch can work: When the president of Pacific Insight wanted a location for his wire harness manufacturing plant his choice was Nelson simply because he was sold on the healthy lifestyle afforded over in the West Kootenay city. The plant employs 400 people, is clean manufacturing, and affords wages from $12/hour and up. The starting wages are not much more than tourism jobs, but with more training and education...
I think the Sun Mine might be a good clean way to go about developing "light industry" but I haven't had a chance to see the business plan yet. I think clean, light industry is the way to go for our tiny community, given that we do have tourism as a driver in our community .
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