Learning & Programs
Health care students in the South Okanagan Similkameen are about to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to a new bursary fund
February 23, 2023
Local philanthropists Yasmin and Rick Thorpe have partnered with Summerlands Penny Lane Legacy Fund to create a $50,000 bursary fund to help bolster the future of health care in the South Okanagan Similkameen. The Caring for Health Care Students Fund will provide $750 - $1,750 awards for eligible students studying at Okanagan Colleges Penticton Campus. We know if we educate healthcare professionals in Penticton, theres a good chance theyll stay and work in the region, says Yasmin John Thorpe. We want to help increase ...
Read more...
做厙TV increases access to early childhood education in the South Okanagan
February 22, 2023
Okanagan College (做厙TV) is opening new spaces for people interested in working in early childhood education, as childcare facilities across the region and British Columbia continue to face staffing challenges. The Early Childhood Education Certificate program starts at 做厙TVs Penticton campus in mid-March and runs through May 2024. The intake will have space for 24 students, adding to the more than 145 Early Childhood Education students studying at Okanagan College in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton this year. According to the province...
Read more...
Acclaimed musician brings Songwriting 101 to 做厙TV Salmon Arm and Revelstoke
February 16, 2023
Have you ever had a song that you couldnt get out of your head? An award-winning local musician is presenting a day-long introduction to the craft and joy of songwriting at Okanagan College in Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. Joanne Stacey has spent most of her life working in the music business as a performer, musician, recording artist, and songwriter. On Feb. 25 in Salmon Arm and again on March 11 in Revelstoke, Stacey will be pouring that lifetime of music industry experience and songwriting expertise into a new course: Songwriting ...
Read more...
做厙TV's Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest set to return for 38th year this spring
February 13, 2023
Spaghetti is back on the menu at Okanagan College this spring.A fixture on the spring calendar in the Okanagan for nearly four decades, the College's popular Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest will return this March for the first time since 2020.做厙TV will host the 38th annual contest on Friday, March 3 at the Kelowna campus. Organizers are putting the call out to teachers and students from elementary through post-secondary to participate.Students can enter the following competitions:Elementary School Students: Elementary School Demonst...
Read more...
Okanagan resident sharpens skills with Continuing Studies program
February 7, 2023
Vernon resident Keith Schmaltz spent most of his career working in the heavy-duty equipment industry. But after a nearly 40-year career, he decided he wanted to learn some new skills and continue that career in a related field. Enter Okanagan Colleges Continuing Studies department, offering programs and courses to suit all different learning needs. Keith enrolled in the Professional Industry Driver program, offered by Okanagan College in collaboration with Taylor Pro Training and BC Forest Safety Council. The program is funded by...
Read more...
Former Top Chef takes the reins at Okanagan Colleges Infusions restaurant
January 17, 2023
Fans of Canadas 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 Networks Canadas 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 Colleges Salmon Arm campus. Okanagan College will be offering an intake of the Construction Craft Worker program starting on Jan. 30 at the Colleges 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...
Meet Aaron Edis, Electronics Engineering alumnus
December 2, 2022
Q: Whats your hometown? Where are you now? A: Burnaby and Kelowna. I now live in Salmon Arm, B.C. Q: What years did you attend 做厙TV? A: 2008 to 2010 Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: I was living in Kelowna at the time and I was interested in Electrical/Electronics, perhaps an engineering degree. I figured the college was the place to start since I could be a technologist after 2 years of school and then had the option to start working if I chose. Th...
Read more...
Partnership helping to fill staffing gaps in hospitality and tourism industry
December 1, 2022
Like many industries, the hospitality and tourism sector has been hard hit by staff shortages over the past few years with a declining youth population and an aging workforce combining to create significant challenges. But a new program designed in partnership by Okanagan College (做厙TV) and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) will help to reduce those shortages. The first of four new cohorts of students enrolled in the Hospitality Professional Program this fall, a flexible program open to students anywhere in the Thom...
Read more...
Meet Jedidiah Forrest, 做厙TV Electronics Engineering alum
November 29, 2022
Q: What years did you attend 做厙TV? A: 2014-2016 Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: Engineering technology programs caught my eye. Needed a career path change. Q: How did you choose your program? A: I applied to all three engineering programs and Electronic Engineering Technology responded first. Q: What did you like most about the program? A: The immersion was incredible. Every day is a science whirlwind, and labs were fantastically engaging. The staff is ma...
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 communitys surging need for skilled trades professionals. These bursaries and added equipment provide opportunities for women to pursue t...
Read more...
Okanagan College to host Kelowna campus open house, program spotlights this Saturday
November 17, 2022
Soaring careers in aviation. Sustainable building for the future. Life-changing health care roles. The social sciences that help us understand and better our world. The trades that keep our province and country running. Business skills for the leaders of today and tomorrow. Upgrading that opens doors to new career paths. How to apply and finance your education. All this and more will await guests to Okanagan Colleges Kelowna campus Open House this weekend. Okanagan College is opening its doors to the community on Saturday, Nov. 19...
Read more...
Thorpe and Friends Scholarship recognizes two Okanagan College students
October 26, 2022
Local students say the generosity of two prominent Penticton philanthropists is helping them take the next steps in their education. Since 2006, former MLA Rick Thorpe and his wife Yasmin John-Thorpe, along with their friends, have given more than $160,000 in scholarships to students in need at Okanagan Colleges Penticton Campus. Two of this years recipients, Wylie Rowan and Mattias Van Bergeyk, received $2,500 to put toward their education. Both students are Summerland Secondary School grads in their first year of studie...
Read more...
Real Adulting 101
October 11, 2022
Students at Okanagan College (做厙TV) have a new opportunity to learn skills they will need to take into adulthood with a unique new partnership between 做厙TV and Kelowna company Real Adulting 101. We shouldve learned about this in high school. How many times have you said this while sitting down to do your taxes, or after the incredibly overwhelming process of buying your first home? said entrepreneur and founder, Brittany Clough, who developed Real Adulting 101. Real Adulting 101 and Okanagan College have joined forces to offer the ...
Read more...
做厙TV improves access to childcare training for infant-toddler care
October 5, 2022
Training to care for infants and toddlers in childcare settings has never been easier to access. Okanagan College is holding a special intake for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Infant-Toddler Certificate program that is designed to enhance access for those already working in the field of childcare. Classes are part-time and held online, making it easy for those to balance work and training. Okanagan College has heard from people working in the childcare sector that they want to expand their professional scope to include infa...
Read more...
Meet Bella Cotton, 做厙TV Engineering student
September 20, 2022
Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: I was debating between UVic, UBCO and 做厙TV. I was accepted into all of these programs, and UVic with a scholarship, but a few teachers and UBCO students persuaded me into coming to 做厙TV. They said that the teachers are great, the class sizes small, and its cheaper! Q: How did you choose your program? A: I am doing the General Engineering Transfer Program that transfers to UBCO in second year. Ive always loved math and physics a...
Read more...