Toronto, June 1, 2005 --- A partnership between business and education is bringing valuable resources and skills together to benefit the Greater Toronto Area economy.

What began as a pilot project targeting the automotive sector has become a model for tapping the resources a region has to attract business – in this case to the Greater Toronto Area. The project was made possible through the financial support of the federal government’s Community Investment Support Program (CISP).

Working under the direction of The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) and private sector partners Herman Miller Canada, Ian Martin Ltd and Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, students from Seneca College’s School of Marketing and e-Business programs have been researching and targeting international investors for the Greater Toronto Area.

“This initiative is a model that we hope to emulate with other educational institutions and industry sectors. It strengthens our capacity to outreach to the international investment community, and more importantly, the model provides exactly the kind of value connection between educational institutions and the private sector that is a key part of the attractiveness for doing business in the GTA”, said Karen Campbell, President & CEO, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance.

For two days each week students work out of the offices at Ian Martin Ltd. to research and identify potential investment prospects who are seeking to expand or relocate their business.

As a result, students are receiving practical research experience and hands-on training in their chosen fields; partner businesses are attracting new business while teaching current practices to their next generation employee; and the GTA is demonstrating the power of its resources to potential investors to the benefit of the economy.

“We’re seeing the public and private sector working together, we’re getting better data and better intelligence than we had before, and the students are gaining experience in a work environment. As an added bonus, the federal government has expressed keen interest in adopting this model for their consulates abroad,” says Tim Peters, Real Estate Development Manager, Herman Miller Canada Inc.

The culmination of the research has resulted in a series of private meetings between senior executives from the prospect companies, the GTMA and private sector partners, who have provided legal, staffing and facility management expertise. This initiative identified 20 prospective companies in the automotive sector that are considering investing in the GTA. Meetings with the executives of many of these companies took place during the Society of Automotive Engineering World Congress in Detroit, Michigan in April. The GTMA will continue to follow-up with these companies and looks forward to building on and expanding this initiative with other key industry sectors.

Seneca College is Canada’s largest college with more than 100,000 full and part-time students on campuses across the Greater Toronto Area. Seneca provides internationally and nationally recognized career education and training key to graduate success in the global economy. Every Seneca diploma, certificate and applied degree program is developed to a high academic standard, in consultation with industry, integrated with information technology, combined with technical and transferable skills, and reinforced by opportunities for ongoing education and re-training. www.senecac.on.ca.

The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) is the key point of contact for prospective international investors looking to expand or locate their business in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Through complimentary and confidential advisory service, the GTMA, with the resources of its public and private sector partners, provide essential business information and site selection services to help businesses invest in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) greatertoronto.org.

Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP: www.fmc-law.com

Herman Miller Canada Inc.: www.hermanmiller.com

Ian Martin Limited: www.ianmartin.com

For more information:
Laura Mandell
, ext. 2352
Seneca College

Karen Campbell
Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance