1. ALLIES Small and Medium-
Sized Enterprises Project:
Engaging SMEs
Presentation to the 2010 ALLIES Learning Exchange

2. Engaging SMEs
• What is an SME?
– A Small or Medium-sized
Enterprise
• 1-49 employees, small
• 50-499 employees, medium
• 500 or more employees, large

3. Engaging SMEs
• ALLIES Project
– Phase 1: Research, industry scans, and
“What’s worked? What hasn’t worked?”
– Phase 2: Consultation and strategy
development
– Phase 3: Role out, test, and adjust strategy

4. Importance of issue
• SMEs are the engine of
Canadian and local economies
– 1 million SMEs, 7 million jobs
• Shortage of qualified labour
– Experienced by nearly two-thirds of
all SME owners across Canada
• Skilled immigrants overlooked
– Between 2001-2006, an estimated
78% of SMEs did not hire a new
immigrant

5. Early results: focused approach
• Nearly 1 million SMEs across Canada with paid employees.
Where do you begin?
– Vancouver: Engineering Services 1,010 SMEs, 1 large enterprise
– Montreal: ICTs 5,000 enterprises; Aerospace 235 enterprises
– Calgary: Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction 1,700 SMEs, 47,000
employed; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting, 2,500
SMEs
– Halifax: Skilled trades, Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning, as
well as Electrical Contractors, 310 SMEs: Legal Services, 190 SMEs
– Toronto: Computer Systems Design and Services, 7,900 SMEs;
Accounting and related services, 2,400 SMEs;

6. Ways forward
• What investments
have been made and
what has worked?
• Regional consultations
• Sharing of good ideas

7. Contact information
Peter Paul
Project Leader - ALLIES
Maytree
ppaul@maytree.com