Each Local Board carries out a number of initiatives that address priority issues concerning employment and training in their geographic area. In order to achieve our mandate, the Board follows a planning cycle to complete the following activities:

1. TOP Process and Report

A Niagara Workforce Planning Board driven, community-based report that results from a highly interactive process of research, community consultations, on-line survey and interviews. It is a living document that Niagara Workforce Planning Board will be updating on a semi-annual basis. The updates will demonstrate the progress of planned and current initiatives and actions as they relate to the identified and emerging issues of labour market and labour force development.

The TOP Process:
 Research the conditions of the local labour market;
 Facilitate community consultations to review/discuss research findings;
 Establish local priorities for labour market development;
 Engage local partners in initiating action plans that respond to priorities of mutual interest.

The TOP process culminates in the publication of annual TOP Reports prepared by each Local Board area in Ontario.

2. Community Partnerships

These partnerships involve directors, staff, at least two other non-government organizations as well as community members. Directly impacting the community, the partnerships are a way to address a community need to related labour adjustment activities.

As of June 2009, the Local Boards Partnerships Database provides online access to information on 1,700+ community partnership projects that have been undertaken by Local Boards since 2001, with the active involvement of over 3,300 different organizations across Ontario. The make up of these partner organizations works out roughly to the following numbers, percentage-wise:

Not-for-profit organizations = 30%
Business = 36%
Three levels of government = 17%
Educational institutions = 13%
Labour organizations = 4%

Since 2001, Local Boards report that the value of their local partners' in-kind contributions (not including government) to partnership projects and activities amounts to more than $16.5 million. For the same period, local partners (not including government partners) have contributed over $6.9 million in actual funding toward these partnerships.

For more information about the Local Boards Network please visit www.localboards.on.ca