Photo: Venture Muskoka members from left, Amy Taylor from the Town of Gravenhurst; Lauren MacDermid, Town of Huntsville; Jennifer Clancy, Town of Bracebridge; James Cox, Township of Muskoka Lakes; Trisha Walton, Township of Georgian Bay and Morgan Longsdale, Township of Lake of Bays.
Venture Muskoka, an economic alliance of the lower-tier municipalities within the District of Muskoka, kicked off the implementation of the Muskoka Workforce Development Strategy with the celebration of a Marketing Canada Award from the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) for the impactful Muskoka Job Board digital marketing campaign. The award highlights Venture Muskoka’s innovative approach to promoting local employment opportunities and supporting workforce development across the region.
Muskoka Job Board
To raise awareness of the job board and jobs within Muskoka, Venture Muskoka collaborated with local marketing agency Top Water Communications to create a digital marketing plan to encourage awareness of and visitation to the job board. The target audience was those seeking work in Muskoka or willing to relocate to Muskoka for work. Marketing channels included social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as search engine optimization (SEO) on Google. The successful promotion of the job board has been a key factor in raising awareness of local employment options and strengthening Muskoka’s labour market.
Launched in June 2023, the Muskoka Job Board was designed to make job searching easier by automatically pulling job opportunities from across Muskoka from over 40 online job boards. The jobs are indexed and searchable by keyword, job type, municipality, and employment preference (casual, part time or full time).
In September 2024, Venture Muskoka launched the second phase of their marketing campaign for the Muskoka Job Board through a video series to encourage career paths that are in high demand within Muskoka. The first video encourages viewers to consider a career in the tourism industry, and a second video focusing on the trades industry is being released soon.
Muskoka Workforce Strategy
Venture Muskoka hosted a workforce session on November 5th in Gravenhurst to present the Muskoka Workforce Strategy and Implementation Plan to community partners. Created through broad community consultation, the strategy is a forward-thinking approach aimed at fostering economic growth, supporting diverse industry needs, and ensuring long-term job stability for residents.
The session brought together key stakeholders from across Muskoka and beyond, representing a diverse range of community organizations, educational institutions, and government entities. The gathering was an essential step in fulfilling Venture Muskoka’s vision of building a resilient and sustainable workforce, while ensuring that supporting entities share a unified vision of the strategy’s goals. Topics included an open forum to discuss the current labour market needs and trends and to explore key points in the strategy that focus on workforce retention, skills development, and industry growth. Participants shared insights and formed valuable connections, opening the door for continued collaboration centred around workforce challenges and opportunities across the region.
“Venture Muskoka is thrilled to be recognized nationally by EDAC for promoting local employment,” said James Cox, Economic Development Officer with the Township of Muskoka Lakes and member of Venture Muskoka. “The Muskoka Job Board exemplifies our commitment to connecting employers with talent, and the recent stakeholder session underscores our dedication to regional unity with a common goal to build a vibrant, sustainable workforce across Muskoka.”
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