Renovations at the new innovation centre are almost complete, and we're on track for a June grand opening (invitation to follow!). Mayor Rick Goldring first announced this exciting initiative at his State of the City address on January 25, and we've been hard at work getting everything ready to go. Located at 5500 North Service Road, the 8,600 square foot space will be dedicated to supporting new and growing technology companies. We can't wait to unveil the centre's name and logo very soon, so be sure to stay tuned for this announcement!

Innovation centre April 11th (left) and May 1st (right). 

From left to right: Keith Hoey (Burlington Chamber of Commerce), Gary Graham (BEDC Board of Directors), Mayor Rick Goldring, John Davidson (Halton Region), Claire Green (BEDC) and Frank McKeown (BEDC) on a tour of the innovation centre March 17th.

Does your company need dollars to train your employees?  The Centre for Skills Development & Training administers over $1.3 million in training grants annually to local companies through the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) initiative.  Funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario, COJG supports employers by reimbursing up to 2/3 of the cost of third-party training, up to a maximum of $10,000 per employee.  To find out more about COJG and our other services for employers, please contact The Centre: (905) 333-3499 x188 or  employers@thecentre.on.ca

Ticket registration is now open for the 11th annual Let's Talk Exports breakfast held in partnership  with Export Development Canada (EDC). This year's event will cover a range of global economic trends including the impact of the shifts in US trade policy, key risks facing the world economy, political uncertainty in the developed world, impact on Canadian exporters, US and Canadian interest rates, and potential opportunities for Canadian exporters. Learn more about the event and register online today .

On March 14th McKeil Marine officially opened the doors to their new 16,000 square foot  head office located a long Burlington's QEW corridor. With over 60 years of experience in Canada's maritime industry providing transportation and project services for a wide range of customers and industry sectors, McKeil Marine was built on entrepreneurial spirit and aims to deliver the next innovative solution.

Ceremonial ribbon cutting at the McKeil Marine  grand opening on March 14th, 2017 

Summer Company is a key component of the Ontario government's young entrepreneurs programs, which aims to encourage more young people to turn their talents into creative and innovative businesses. Summer Company provides hands-on business training and mentoring, together with awards of up to $3,000 to help enterprising students start up and run their own summer business.

Eligible candidates must be between 15-29 years of age, a student returning to school in the fall of 2017, a resident of Ontario, Canadian citizen or Landed Immigrant, and not be operating an existing business or be employed full time over the course of the summer. In addition, students must be prepared to commit a minimum of 8 -12 consecutive weeks full-time to the experience.

Click here to learn more or apply

Professor and economist Glenn Hubbard, will share his perspective on the current state of the American economy and the policy decisions of the new administration. He will also discuss the implications of these themes for the global economic order. A question and answer session will be facilitated after the lecture by Dr. Sherry Cooper, TMX Industry Professor at the DeGroote School of Business, and Chief Economist of Dominion Lending Centres.

May 11th 8:30am - 9:30am 

Three sessions: May 5th, 12th, 19th 9am - 1pm 

Entrepreneur's Toolkit Workshops are experiential, hands-on workshops facilitated by experienced entrepreneurs. The workshops offer ventures tools, mentoring and peer feedback to solve specific problems and develop essential business components. In each four-hour session you will generate a deliverable that you will use frequently in the business development process.