A key component of the BC SkillsForce Initiative has been the 14 focus group sessions that were held involving participants from small and medium-sized businesses operating in rural B.C. The communities in which these sessions were held are as follows:

A broad cross section of the business community were asked to participate in the focus group sessions, and the mix of participants comprised representatives from the following sectors: Hospitality Tourism Forestry Mining, Oil & Gas Secondary Manufacturing Business Services High Technology Construction Retail Health and Social Services

The focus group sessions were designed to actively engage the business community in the process of identifying the challenges they are facing in accessing skilled labour and provided a forum for them to offer their input on potential strategies to address the skill shortage and aging workforce issues. Businesses were also asked for their views on how training institutions and/or other small business service providers might work more closely with the business community to address these issues. The input received from the participants contributed to the development of a survey questionnaire which was then distributed to over 10,000 businesses.