Articles tagged "Trades"
Trades, tech and triumph: OC hosts 2023 Skills Canada BC Regionals
March 16, 2023
Sparks flew, culinary creations delighted, and electronic expertise was on display as more than 100 competitors converged at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus for the 2023 SkillsBC Regional Trades and Technologies competition on Friday, Feb. 24. Skills Canada Regionals tests the skills and knowledge of junior and high school students, college trades students and apprentices across a wide array of trades and technology competitions – Architectural CAD, Cabinetmaking, Culinary Arts, Electronics, Welding, Jr. Skills Gravity Vehicle, J...
Read more...
Community donations support College's trades facility
February 21, 2023
Two recent donations to Okanagan College’s trades training facility are a perfect example of how partnerships with the community continue to benefit students. People taking courses in Okanagan College’s RV Training program are benefitting from donations that allow them to work on equipment that is in use in the industry. GLP Canada and Atlas Trailer both donated an assortment of new appliances including hot water heaters, furnaces and range/oven to the RV Training program. “Thank you to our valued partners in the co...
Read more...
Okanagan College’s 15th annual Business Expo and Employment Fair returns on Feb. 1
January 18, 2023
For those on the hunt for a new job – or wondering about the educational pathway to kickstart a career change – one of Okanagan College’s most popular community events is back and bigger than ever in 2022. OC’s Business Expo & Employment Fair will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Centre for Learning (E Building) Atrium and in the Trades (T Building) Atrium at the Kelowna Campus, 1000 KLO Rd. The Expo is presented by the College’s School of Business, in collaboration with OC’s Trades and Apprentice...
Read more...
Former ‘Top Chef’ takes the reins at Okanagan College’s Infusions restaurant
January 17, 2023
Fans of Canada’s Top Chef will recognize the name of the new Executive Chef at Infusions. Ruth Wigman, whose 20-year career has taken her coast to coast, brings a fresh and exciting perspective to the restaurant at Okanagan College staffed by Culinary Arts students. Wigman, who was a contestant on the Food Network’s Canada’s Top Chef program in 2014, most recently worked as the executive sous-chef at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport for over three years. Before that, she worked at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the Fairmount Sout...
Read more...
Okanagan College launches sponsored trades training opportunity to help open doors, create job-ready workers in Salmon Arm
January 6, 2023
Students with limited or no previous experience in trades can access training that will lead to employment and future careers in construction, thanks to a program that starts at the end of January at Okanagan College’s Salmon Arm campus. Okanagan College will be offering an intake of the Construction Craft Worker program starting on Jan. 30 at the College’s Salmon Arm Trades Centre. “This new program is supporting students to gain the skills they need now, helping them get good jobs in industries where communities need them,” sai...
Read more...
Prospera gives big in support of Women in Trades at Okanagan College
November 28, 2022
More women will get a chance to lace up their work boots and take the first step in a career in trades, thanks to a recent $79,660 gift from Prospera to a program at Okanagan College that has already trained over 1,300 women since it was founded. The Women in Trades Training program was created to remove barriers for women interested in pursuing trades education and help meet the community’s surging need for skilled trades professionals. “These bursaries and added equipment provide opportunities for women to pursue t...
Read more...
The Market at Okanagan College serving up locally produced food to fuel back-to-school
September 7, 2022
Move over, cafeteria lunch trays: locally produced foods and goods are sliding into the spotlight at Okanagan College this September. The Market at Okanagan College launched Sept. 6 in the former cafeteria space in Kelowna, and will be a source of healthy, local food that supports the holistic health and well-being of the campus community. Offering local, fresh food on campus celebrates the incredible diversity of Okanagan food and agriculture and furthers OC’s commitment to Feed BC. “Sustainability is vital for all aspects of s...
Read more...
Thomas Klein
September 1, 2022
Even as a kid I knew I would go into the trades. An office job wouldn’t work for me because my ADHD makes it hard for me to sit still for too long, and my reading and writing aren’t the best.” “One of my high school teachers got me into sheet metal. The school helped me enroll in Okanagan College’s Sheet Metal Worker Foundation Certificate program. The program allowed me to learn a lot of new techniques, test out ideas, and try new things. When I first found out that ...
Read more...
New ‘Step into Steel Toes’ course invites women to try carpentry
August 29, 2022
Home renovations on your to-do list? Curious about power tools and considering a project? Okanagan College is launching a new trades exploratory program this fall – exclusively for women. “More and more women are expressing an interest in learning skills related to carpentry, electrical, plumbing, automotive and sheet metal projects,” says Teresa Kisilevich, associate dean, Trades and Apprenticeship at Okanagan College. “Step into Steel Toes is designed to make it easier for women of all ages to feel comfortable trying out vario...
Read more...
Meet Karl Heldt, Collision Repair student
July 27, 2022
Q: How did you hear about Okanagan College’s program? A: I found the program on Okanagan College’s website while browsing training possibilities for a new career. I applied because I felt like trying something new. Q: Why did you want to pursue this career? A: I chose this career because I’ve always been interested in vehicles. Before I enrolled in the program, a friend of mine was in a car accident and wrecked his car. He knew I was interested in cars so he gave it to me ...
Read more...
Meet Tony Yang, RV Service Technician Foundation
July 12, 2022
Q: How did you hear about Okanagan College’s program? A: I attended a Career Fair and learned about the entry-level foundation program. Q: Why did you want to pursue this career? A: I own a campground and wanted to learn more about trailers to expand my knowledge and business opportunities. Q: Do you have a favourite learning experience or project while taking the program? A: I really liked the electric, plumbing and appliance lessons. It was a practical knowledge an...
Read more...
Meet Helen Pleavin, RV Service Technician Foundation
July 12, 2022
Q: How did you hear about Okanagan College’s program? A: I looked up the program online when I heard about the RV Tech career and was thrilled to find a local post-secondary institute offering the training so I could take it close to home! Q: Why did you want to pursue this career? A: I worked in the tourism industry for 20 years and wanted a career that was more practical and hands-on. I felt like being an RV Service Technician would be a good fit to my previous experienc...
Read more...
Meet Josh Lang, RV Service Technician Foundation
July 12, 2022
Q: How did you hear about Okanagan College’s program? A: I heard about the program at the Abbotsford RV show, I applied because of the wide variety of areas we learn about. Q: Why did you want to pursue this career? A: I love the outdoors and repairing things so I thought it would be a great fit for me to learn how to repair RVs. Also, a lot of the skills I am learning transfer to other aspects of my life. Q: Do you have a favourite learning experience or project whi...
Read more...
OC summer workshops spotlight advantages of learning skilled trades
July 11, 2022
Interested in learning more about carpentry or auto mechanics this summer? Okanagan College is offering seven half-day workshops that spotlight the personal and professional benefits of learning skilled trades. The workshops, which have a limited capacity, are being offered at no cost to participants, through the Industry Training Authority’s “What’s a Trade?” Workshop Grant. Registration is first-come, first-served. Participants will only be permitted to register for one workshop. Workshops ...
Read more...
How sweet it is: Culinary Arts students celebrate Commencement in person
June 6, 2022
This year, Okanagan College Culinary Arts students can savour success together, during the first in-person Summer Commencement ceremony held in two years. OC Trades and Apprenticeship students completing foundation, diploma and apprenticeship level programs will cross the stage Thursday, June 9 at Okanagan College. Trades and Apprenticeship programs were among those especially challenged by the impacts of the pandemic. Food services on campus were greatly reduced, which meant that unlike other years, the Culinary Arts students cou...
Read more...
Car crash couldn’t keep OC apprentice from winning B.C. gold
May 16, 2022
It takes a lot to throw Joey Bruno off his game. The third-year apprentice in the Auto Body and Collision Technician training at Okanagan College was on his way to a Skills Provincials competition on April 22 when the car he was riding in rear-ended another vehicle. “I knew our car was a write-off, but I also knew I could fix it,” said Bruno. By sheer coincidence, he was heading to the Skills Automotive Collision Repair provincial competition, where he set to compete. Bruno arrived late and tried to put the ca...
Read more...