If there's one message Nicole Poole has for graduating students, it’s this: businesses in Surrey are hiring, and they’re willing to take a bet on young workers.
Poole, a co-ordinator with Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s co-operative education program, says there is healthy interest from Surrey-based employers in a range of sectors, including manufacturing, marketing, office administration and accounting.
Trades graduates are in especially hot demand for both manufacturing and construction, and Poole is also seeing more call for graduates from business programs to help with startups.
The municipality continues to benefit from its large base of affordable industrial land – the feature that prompts many businesses to move from deindustrializing places such as Vancouver and North Vancouver, said Leo Smyth, a partner with PwC who focuses on Surrey.
But the business environment in Surrey is also maturing, Smyth said.
“You have these general maturing factors that are pushing business infrastructure, and that is in turn allowing businesses to grow,” he said.
Real estate activity continues to rise, spurred by continued densification, Smyth said. The recently completed South Fraser Perimeter Road also has the potential to expand the city’s logistics and warehousing sector, with better connections to port terminals like Fraser Surrey Docks.
“One of the things you see is that businesses are doing business internationally and they’re dealing with international threats,” Smyth said.
Another benefit is a high-quality workforce that can afford housing in lower-priced Surrey without having to endure a “crazy” commute.
While Kwantlen matches students to employers from across the country, Poole said graduates often aren’t aware of the opportunities in Surrey.
To expose students to the full range of businesses in Surrey, the university has teamed up with the Surrey Board of Trade to offer a “career crawl” this October. •
