We welcome Tonya Wolfe, Red Deer Polytechnic Associate Vice President, Applied Research.   Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) is helping to build central Alberta through innovation and research.  Findings from the 2025 Business Retention, Expansion and Workforce Development (BREWD) study by the central Alberta First Partnership show that central Albert businesses have identified that skilled labor shortages directly impact their ability to grow sales or production.  Training and integrating new technologies takes time.  Adoption of technology such as AII is progressing faster than businesses can adapt. Workforce data showed a need to gather data regarding skill needs across the region would assist in forecasting future employer demands.  RDP is poised to assist businesses to solve these challenges, adopt new technologies, train people and help them grow. The Division of Applied Research helps partners explore, test, and validate real-world solutions.