Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board SLWDB

What Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board SLWDB does

Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB) is a community-based, non-profit organisation founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sarnia, Ontario, that operates as a designated Employment Ontario program funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. It serves the Sarnia Lambton region with two primary user groups: job seekers (career exploration, resume/cover letter tools, job search) and local employers (workforce planning, hiring-trend data, recruitment support), alongside employment service providers, community/economic-development partners, the Francophone community (designated November 2024), and First Nations partners (Aamjiwnaang, Walpole Island).

SLWDB's core technology product is the WISL (Work In Sarnia Lambton) platform, launched in 2020, which aggregates job postings from over 23 external job boards (including Indeed, Job Bank, and Kijiji) into a single free job-search interface and surrounds it with mapping tools (Job Map, Sector Map, Census Map, Talent Map), career tools (Career Library by NOC, Career Explorer, Resume Builder, Cover Letter Generator, Work From Home Job Board), and analytics modules (Job Demand Report, Skill Demand Report covering 29,000+ unique knowledge/skills/tool terms). The organisation also publishes an annual Local Labour Market Plan, an annual EmployerOne Survey (323 local business respondents in 2025/2026), and sector-specific research reports (agriculture, manufacturing, clean energy, gig economy, AI landscape, Francophone workforce).

The business model is government-funded with no direct charge to end users: SLWDB provides all services, tools, and data products free of charge to job seekers and employers in the region, and distributes them through the WISL self-serve platform, partner employment service providers (Goodwill Career Centre, Lambton College CES, The Workplace Group, Lambton Workforce Connection, Literacy Lambton), and coordinated initiatives such as the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. The operating geography is strictly the Sarnia Lambton region in southwestern Ontario, with no disclosed expansion beyond it.

Name

Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board SLWDB

Legal name

Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board

Website

https://slwdb.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB) is a community-based, non-profit Employment Ontario agency that provides free local labour-market research and operates the WISL job-aggregation and career-tools platform for job seekers and employers in the Sarnia Lambton region of Ontario.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarnia

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding - Employment Ontario: As an Employment Ontario program, SLWDB is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. This funding supports workforce development activities, job seeker services, and employer engagement programs in the Sarnia Lambton region.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SLWDB is a non-profit workforce development organization that provides labour market information, workforce planning research, and employment services for the Sarnia Lambton region in Ontario, Canada. Its core offering is the WISL (Work In Sarnia Lambton) platform, a free digital job board and career resource that aggregates postings from over 23 local job boards and provides mapping tools, career exploration resources, and workforce intelligence. The organization also produces annual Local Labour Market Plans, conducts the EmployerOne Survey, and coordinates with local employers, employment service providers, and government agencies on workforce development initiatives. All services are provided free of charge to both job seekers and employers.

Product overview

Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB) operates WISL (Work In Sarnia Lambton), a comprehensive workforce intelligence platform. The core WISL platform integrates multiple modules including a Job Board that aggregates postings from dozens of sources, an interactive Job Map for geographic job discovery, and specialized tools for career exploration. Additional modules include Resume Builder, Cover Letter Generator, Work From Home Job Board, Career Library organized by NOC categories, Career Explorer for path discovery, Census Map Tool, Talent Map Tool, Sector Map Tool, Sector Library, Job Demand Report, and Skill Demand Report. SLWDB also produces research reports including the annual Local Labour Market Plan (LLMP) and EmployerOne Survey, along with topic-specific research on AI, manufacturing, clean energy, gig economy, and agriculture sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WISL (Work In Sarnia Lambton) A comprehensive, free workforce intelligence platform that aggregates job postings from over 23 local job boards, provides interactive mapping tools for jobs and employment services, career exploration resources, resume and cover letter builders, and reporting tools for both job seekers and employers in the Sarnia Lambton region.
• Local Labour Market Plan (LLMP) An annual comprehensive report that informs the public, job seekers, service providers, and employers about local labour market conditions, research findings, statistical data, and community consultations for the Sarnia Lambton region.
• EmployerOne Survey An annual community-wide survey that collects information directly from employers about workforce needs and hiring trends, providing valuable insights into local job markets in the Sarnia Lambton region.
• Research Reports (Sector-Specific) In-depth research reports examining specific labour market topics including AI landscape, manufacturing sector challenges, clean energy workforce needs, gig economy, agriculture workforce, workforce participation studies, and Francophone workforce community action planning for the Sarnia Lambton region.

Quantifiable outcome

• 323 local businesses participated in the 2025/2026 EmployerOne Survey
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Sarnia Lambton Economic PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. Collaborates on economic and workforce development initiatives to mitigate negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employers and workforce.
• Sarnia Lambton Business Development CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. Collaborates on economic and workforce development initiatives.
• Tourism Sarnia LambtonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. Collaborates on economic recovery initiatives.
• Sarnia Lambton Chamber of CommercemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. Collaborates on economic and workforce development initiatives to support local businesses.
• Grand Bend and Area Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Sarnia-Lambton COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force. Collaborates on economic recovery initiatives for the Grand Bend area.
• Goodwill Career CentremajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal Employment Service Provider partner offering free employment services to job seekers in the Sarnia Lambton region.
• Lambton College Community Employment ServicesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEmployment service provider offering case management, Canada-Ontario Job Grant, Better Jobs Ontario, and resource center for job seekers.
• The Workplace GroupmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal employment service provider partner offering free workforce services to job seekers and employers in the region.
• Lambton Workforce ConnectionmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal employment service provider offering free employment and training services to job seekers in Lambton County.
• Aamjiwnaang First NationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Nation partner providing employment and training services to community members.
• Walpole Island First NationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Nation partner providing employment and training services to community members.
• Literacy LambtonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLiteracy and Basic Skills service provider partner helping job seekers improve foundational skills.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Toronto Region Board of Trade: A large regional business and economic development organization that conducts workforce research, employer surveys, and policy advocacy as part of a broader mandate covering the Toronto region.
• Job Bank (Government of Canada): A federal government job aggregator and labour market information portal serving all of Canada. Operates at much larger scale and is also a data source that WISL pulls from, making it both an incumbent and a partner.
• Calgary Economic Development: Calgary's regional economic development agency which produces workforce reports, talent attraction campaigns, and sector-specific labour market analysis as part of a broader economic development mandate.
• LinkedIn: A global professional network with extensive job board functionality and labour market insights. Competes directly for the same job seeker and employer audience and offers comparable professional networking and recruiting tooling.
• Indeed: The dominant global job aggregator, which is one of WISL's upstream data sources and competes for the same job seeker audience. Massive scale and brand recognition make it the principal competitive threat to SLWDB's local aggregation layer.

Emerging players

• Magnet: A Canadian workforce inclusion and matching platform originally focused on immigrant employment, now expanding into broader regional workforce development and employer matching with strong public-sector backing.

Direct peers

• Peel-Halton Local Employment Planning Council: An Ontario workforce planning body covering Peel and Halton regions, delivering labour market reports, employer surveys, and sector studies through a comparable community-based, publicly funded model.
• London & Area Works (London Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership): A southwestern Ontario workforce and immigrant employment organization that coordinates local labour market planning and employment service delivery for the London-Middlesex region under similar provincial structures.
• Workforce Planning Hamilton: An Ontario Local Employment Planning Council serving Hamilton with the same core mandate of local labour market planning, employer engagement surveys, and workforce research for a defined region.
• Niagara Workforce Planning: A neighbouring Ontario workforce planning organization producing community labour market plans and employer surveys for the Niagara region, operating with the same provincial Employment Ontario framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/slwdb
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKfQVb39aGVPhLOt2nupQdA
• Facebookfacebook.com/SarniaLambtonWorkforceDevelopmentBoard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sarnia-lambton-workforce-development-board
• Instagraminstagram.com/slwdb_org/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board SLWDB