December 19th, 2007
SYDNEY – A study into the future of Cape Breton’s knowledge sector has moved into its final stages.
The JCI Cape Breton project, Cape Breton Works, consists of a three-part review including local market employees, local market employers and expatriate surveys. The ultimate goal of the project is to identify strategies to attract and retain knowledge-based sector employees.
With the first two phases of the project completed, JCI Cape Breton is now actively seeking input from Cape Bretoners living in other parts of the country or internationally.
Attracting attention to the online survey has been difficult, but with the recent addition of the Caperland Who’s Who video the Cape Breton works website, participation has improved.
“Our respondents have been good so far, and with the creation of the video we’ve more than tripled the amount of respondents we expected at this stage of the game,” said project manager Stephen Tobin, who added they hoped to have upwards of 500 respondents before the completion of the survey.
The video, developed with the help of Shot On Site Media, combines the humour of common stereotypes and misconceptions with the reality of everything Cape Breton has to offer.
“There were a group of young people who worked on the video,” said Tobin. “It’s a group of young people who came up with the idea and the concept and also implemented and produced the video.”
The final survey will run into the New Year and Tobin said they hope to have all the data pieced together by February.
“The survey is going to be available until the middle of January so probably Jan. 15,” he said. “We’ll take all three surveys and compile the results as well as a list of recommendations based on the results and it will be presented to the general public sometime in February.
“After that, it will be up to JCI as an organization to push the results forward on municipal, provincial and federal levels to try to create some positive change based on the results.”
dmackenzie@cbpost.com
