Have you ever watched an $8-billion brainstorming session?
ThatB次元官网网址檚 exactly what took place in Esquimalt last week, as the Township hosted a roundtable discussion with the major stakeholders connected to SeaspanB次元官网网址檚 federal shipbuilding contract.
B次元官网网址�(The roundtable) was extremely valuable, because it put navy, dockyard and Seaspan all in the same room, along with the people working to provide the education to the workers for those facilities,B次元官网网址� Mayor Barb Desjardins said afterward.
The forum included representatives from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and Camosun College, where many of the 3,000 tradespeople that will be needed before 2020 at SeaspanB次元官网网址檚 Victoria and Vancouver shipyards will be trained.
The discussion was intended to help Esquimalt council and staff understand their role in the monumental economic activity ramping up in the region.
B次元官网网址淭he service of the fleet is more lucrative than the building of the fleet,B次元官网网址� John Shaw, SeaspanB次元官网网址檚 vice-president of business development, said at the meeting. B次元官网网址淚n Vancouver, once you launch the ship, itB次元官网网址檚 launched.B次元官网网址�
Ship repair will translate into at least 30 years of sustainable jobs in the shipyards, if the company stays competitive with other shipyards on the West Coast, Shaw said.
Esquimalt is undertaking an economic development process that includes consultation with seven sectors, including the latest session with shipbuilding and national defence.
The roundtable discussions provide a venue for each stakeholder to suggest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to their sector. It is then the townshipB次元官网网址檚 job to come up with practical ways of spurring development forward.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e asking who makes up community and how we can help them, while maintaining whatB次元官网网址檚 best for residents,B次元官网网址� Desjardins said.
Alex Reuben, chair of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 shipbuilding and repair task force, was at the meeting and agreed with Shaw that ship repair is the key to EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 long-term economic success.
Reuben is also executive director of the Marine Training and Applied Research Centre. The industry-led centre, on Songhees Nation land adjacent to Esquimalt, is billed by the province as a worker training site and a focal point for applied research to help meet increased business demand.
B次元官网网址淭he stability of the Seaspan contract, going forward, sets our shipbuilding and repair dockyard on a secure footing that itB次元官网网址檚 never had before,B次元官网网址� Desjardins said.
B次元官网网址淚f what weB次元官网网址檝e done in any way facilitates better communication for those partnerships, then weB次元官网网址檝e already started to succeed in helping this industry do better.B次元官网网址�
Roundtable discussions with other sectors, including education, developers and First Nations will take place over the coming months. A draft community economic development strategy should be ready to present to council this spring, Desjardins said.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
