Yes! Winnipeg group has eyes on second five years

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This article was published 17/12/2014 (3409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With its five-year target of the creation and retention of 4,200 jobs within sight, Yes! Winnipeg is about to formally launch an initiative to establish a second five-year mandate.

The business attraction and retention arm of Economic Development Winnipeg announced at its annual meeting this morning that it’s current tally of jobs that it has helped secure in the city was at 2,650.

That includes 800 jobs this year from nine companies including 175 jobs that will be created from an expansion at Price Industries.

Bill Morrissey, the leader, of Yes! Winnipeg, said the organization is working on some very strong leads that could be completed in the first quarter of this year.

“We’re very confident we’ll hit our targets,” he said.

He also said there has been strong preliminary indications of support from its stakeholders in the public and private sectors regarding a second five-year mandate.

When Yes! Winnipeg was created in 2010 it raised about two-thirds of its $6-million budget from private sector “investment,” with the federal, provincial and city governments coming up with the rest.

Morrissey said meetings have already been held with its 30 largest private sectors sponsors as well as with the three levels of government outlining Yes! Winnipeg’s intentions of seeking another round of funding.

He said there has been virtually unanimous support for the idea.

The plan is to go forward with exactly the same structure and approach but Morrissey said Yes! Winnipeg would be seeking a slightly higher level of public sector funding that would be used to defray the costs of larger delegations and greater presence at industry and sectoral events and industry conferences across North American and internationally.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca