Penticton is more than just a summertime vacation spot and the city wants to prove it.
A new video series on the city’s online platforms hopes to shine a light on local industries and help businesses attract job seekers outside of the Okanagan.
City-led data from earlier this year revealed that most of Penticton’s newest residents moved because of a job opportunity, with 23 per cent of those coming from the Lower Mainland. The new video-style campaign, though, aims at highlighting all the work sectors that exist in the South Okanagan’s “business hub.”
“Penticton isn’t just a place where you come for a holiday,” said Anthony Haddad, the city’s general manager of community services. “We have a range of thriving industries with good quality jobs, with many employers facing strong growth and actively recruiting skilled workers.”
The campaign officially kicked off Thursday, Sept. 29, with the city stating that the more than 3,600 Penticton-based businesses currently serve upwards of 100,000 people in the region.
Only five per cent of new residents who moved to Penticton from January to April said they were unemployed, according to the city’s economic development department. The data has since been used to better understand what attracts people to the city, hence the start of the video series.
“Penticton offers an ideal quality of life and this campaign will highlight some local sectors that some job-seekers may not have realized are available in our city,” Haddad said.
The city’s focus on attracting skilled labour and remote workers dates back to 2018. Thursday’s campaign announcement marks the final phase of the Economic Development Strategic Plan, which also builds upon Penticton’s COVID-19 Safe Restart Task Force recommendation.
In conjunction with its recruitment efforts, the city says there are currently 520 residential units under construction, 1,060 units approved and 650 in the development application process.
Though the campaign’s launch was Thursday, the city released its first worker-recruitment video on Sept. 23.
READ MORE: Majority of Penticton’s newest residents moved because of work