For the past 3 years Harman Grewal and Harpreet Zingh have been working to build Lab-B as a place to support budding entrepreneurs like themselves in Brampton. Today, their hard-work was recognized by the province’s Trillium Foundation with a $300,000 grant over 36-months to support and mentor young entrepreneurs. This grant was part of a province wide initiative by the provincial government to support 31 youth-led grassroots and community-based organizations with almost $8 million in funding.
This announcement in Brampton comes on the heels of the new Liberal government’s first federal budget that is also looking to invest in young people and innovation. Local MP Raj Grewal and MP Ruby Sahota recently updated members of Brampton’s Board of Trade and discussed the allocation of $800M across Canada to support innovation hubs. Let’s hope that Lab-B continues to be looked upon favourably by our elected officials for additional funding and can super charge entrepreneurial activity across Brampton.
Governments are recognizing that the traditional job market is changing rapidly. Employment statistics are becoming poor gauges for measuring the health of an economy as more and more people have given up looking for a job. For generations we’ve insisted to our kids that getting a good education would lead to a great job. Not so anymore. Young people must now learn how to fend for themselves in the new creative economy. And if you’ve never heard of the creative economy then surely you’re close to retirement and have a cushy pension waiting for you.