Okanagan College Media Release - June 1, 2007

A new initiative, launched by Okanagan College and the Central Okanagan Regional District’s Economic Development Commission, will bring skilled Jamaican workers and college students to British Columbia’s interior.

Okanagan School of Business Professor Michael Patterson explains details of the Jamaican initiative to members of the media.

The initiative, started by Okanagan College’s School of Business, Trades and Apprenticeship department and its International Education department early this year, has attracted national attention in Jamaica and Canada. When representatives from the College, the EDC, and area employers go to the Caribbean country next week, they will be meeting with the country’s Prime Minister, two ministers, and will be the centre of attention at a reception held at the Canadian High Commission on Tuesday.

“This has developed faster and further than we first conceived,” explains Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. “We have been partners with the EDC on European visits to recruit skilled immigrants, so when we decided to investigate educational partnerships in Jamaica, we asked the EDC to join us. The reception received by our representatives when they went in April was inspiring.”

“One of the first things we learned in Jamaica is the tremendous regard the people and the government have for Canada,” explains EDC Chair Ross Langford. “We also learned quickly that there are many skilled workers in Jamaica who are interested in coming to Canada for employment.”

“We are enthused about this developing relationship,” explains the Hon. Derrick Kellier, Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security. “We will do all that we can to expedite the linkages between our nation and the Okanagan for the benefit of students and our skilled workers. Already, the College and the Economic Development Commission are distinguishing themselves as able and valued partners.”

“Being connected with Okanagan College helped open doors in Jamaica,” explains EDC Director Robert Fine. “We were able to meet with Minister Kellier, as well as the Minister of Education, the Hon. Maxine Henry Wilson, to discuss opportunities for education, immigration, and co-operation. We also met with representatives of the Human Employment and Resource Training – National Training Authority (HEART-NTA), which provides skills training for trades workers and also oversees the community colleges of Jamaica.”

(A major reason for the mission’s success was the expertise and advice of an Okanagan College Professor, Michael Patterson, who began work with the College in January. Patterson is Jamaican-born and had experience in creating educational linkages in his former position with London Metropolitan University in England.)

This coming week, College and EDC representatives will be joined on the return trip to Jamaica by members of the business community, including Terry Brown, the General Manager of Greyback Construction, Glen McKillop, of McKillop and Assoc. Stucco Co., and representatives of Wescor Contracting Ltd.

“We see this as an opportunity to help address some real and pressing needs, not only for our company, but for our region,” says Brown, whose firm is one of the major contractors on the William R. Bennett Bridge project in Kelowna, and one of the largest construction firms in the Southern Interior. “The College’s role will be important, to ensure that the tradespeople either have the necessary skills and accreditation or can get them.”

One of the most interesting and positive outcomes of the initiative will be a flow of students from Jamaica to Okanagan College, observes Hamilton. “While we can’t exactly quantify how many students will come, we know there will be dozens in the first year, and that will grow in the years to follow. Since the first trip in late April, we have already received a substantial number of applications for the coming school year.”

Okanagan College will be signing agreements with several colleges in Jamaica in the coming week, and is opening the doors for graduates of Jamaican business diploma programs to transfer into the College’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree program. As well, the College is creating linkages that will allow students from Jamaica to come to the Okanagan for trades and engineering technology programs. A program developed by Okanagan College will also link six months of trades training with six months of business education.

The agreements to be signed in Jamaica will also open the doors for Okanagan College students to go to Jamaica to study as well and will create opportunity for faculty connections between the schools, notes Hamilton. “This is important to us as an institution. We see internationalization of our campuses and our curriculum as an important direction, not only for our students, but also for our region.”

Labour Minister Kellier is scheduled to make a visit to Kelowna in late June, hosted by the College and the EDC.