NEWS RELEASE
COUNTY OF SIMCOE
*************************
While continuing to manage County services during this far-reaching emergency, reopening and recovery efforts are also underway. The County of Simcoe is focused on working with businesses, municipalities and partner organizations to get the local economy back on track.
Tourism Simcoe County (TSC) and the Economic Development Office (EDO) for the County of Simcoe have introduced a wide range of initiatives to encourage shop local campaigns and promote Simcoe County products and services through targeted and strategic investment.
“Throughout the recent pandemic, the County has been working with various partners and businesses to keep our economy moving,” said Warden George Cornell.
“As we start to reopen where safe, the County is here to assist with the necessary education, funding and training to allow businesses to operate within new health guidelines. Simcoe County’s talent, skills and raw materials provide a wide variety of world class products and services and we are committed to help our businesses market them locally, nationally and internationally while ensuring our jobs remain in place.”
Over the past three months, the County has promoted local manufacturers from a diversity of industries that have pivoted to offering Made in Simcoe County solutions to keep people safe and healthy, and the County’s EDO is pleased to partner with the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing to showcase the impressive work and collaborative efforts of local manufacturers, including Honda of Canada Mfg. in Alliston, Molded Precision Components in Oro Medonte, Industrial Filter Manufacturing in Penetanguishene and Heretic Spirits in Collingwood. Click here to read the article.
As County residents, businesses and industry face this new normal, here are some of the opportunities available to help local businesses reopen and resume operations:
Shop local Campaign
TSC and EDO, in conjunction with member municipalities and area partners, have launched an online directory to highlight local businesses in Simcoe County that are continuing to safely provide services and goods such as food, and other daily essentials by local retailers and artisans across the region who are offering call-in, online purchasing options, delivery, take-out and curbside pick-up. For a list of participating businesses visit www.experience.simcoe.ca.
TSC continues to support tourism operators with multi-media digital campaigns, that message “buy local”. Campaigns include digital, social, television, radio and billboards. TSC also supports the sector with providing free e-learning modules such as how to take your business on-line. Tourism Simcoe County continues to develop products and experiences with operators that will be marketed when it is safe to visit. Experiences include; The Simcoe County Honey Trail, Maple Trail, Barn Quilt Trail and a 160 km cycling loop trail.
Ask an Expert Series
The County of Simcoe along with the regional Small Business Enterprise Centres and regional Community Futures Development Corporations are presenting ‘Ask an Expert Series’ over the coming weeks. The sessions will feature experts on topics such as Health and Safety, HR, Accounting, Marketing, Business Planning, Legal and Mental Health as well as Q&A sessions.
Over 240 businesses attended our first session to learn how to reopen and operate their business safely during the pandemic. To watch recorded sessions, or for more information on how to register for upcoming talks, visit www.simcoe.ca/askanexpert.
Digital Main Street
The County of Simcoe is providing funding toward a unique program to help local small and medium-sized businesses go digital. Eligible businesses will receive up to 10 hours of free one-on-one coaching from Digital Service Squads and other digital supports through Digital Main Street and Beyond. For more information, including full eligibility criteria, visit https://edo.simcoe.ca/Pages/COVID-19-Government-Supports.aspx
ShopHERE
The ShopHERE program is now available to small businesses across the County of Simcoe. This program helps businesses to build and optimize online stores in a matter of days. Interested parties can apply for the program by visiting www.digitalmainstreet.ca/shophere for an opportunity to have their online store built at no-cost.
Regional Relief and Recovery Fund
In order to provide targeted assistance to the small towns and communities in the County of Simcoe, local Community Features Development Corporations will administer the funding and focus on assisting “main street” businesses, such as retail shops, restaurants, corner stores, and businesses of strategic importance to our communities, with interest-free loans up to $40,000. For more information, please visit the County’s EDO website.
‘Work in Simcoe County’ Jobs Portal
Working with area partners, the County has launched a new interactive job portal. The Work in Simcoe County site includes local resources and job opportunities, as well as vital information to empower and inspire residents. Using an automated fetching tool to aggregate job listings from over 20 popular job boards and career sites and new user-friendly features, the portal provides services for job seekers, students, parents and local government and helps to link residents with local opportunities, specifically in the skilled trades. To learn more, go to www.workinsimcoecounty.ca.
Tourism Simcoe County and the Economic Development Office continue to provide COVID-19 updates, resources, links to local businesses open for business, and virtual learning opportunities for businesses – all of which is routinely updated. Visit our websites for more information, at https://experience.simcoe.ca/ and https://edo.simcoe.ca/covid-19-business-resources.
*************************
