OCNews

Articles tagged "Trades"

A group of OC student in the RV Training program with new equipment donated from the community.
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 community who continue ...

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Business Expo and Employment Fair
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 Apprenticeship and t...

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Executive Chef Ruth Wigman
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 Southampton i...

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Construction Craft Worker
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,” said Selina R...

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Prospera donation to OC
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 trades training, supp...

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The Market
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 student life...

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Thomas standing in front of the Four Food Chiefs sculpture in the Health Science Centre
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 I got the G...

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Female carpentry student measures a piece of wood with a tape measure
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 various tools o...

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Collision Repair student working on a car in a shop
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 to work on....

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RV Service Technicians standing in front of a trailer in a shop
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 and I enjoyed the 2 ...

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RV Service Technician students working on a RV in a shop
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 experiences. Q: Do y...

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Three RV Service Technician students installing insulation on an RV in the shop
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 while taking the pro...

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women using tire change over equipment in automotive shop
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 run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and are presented in...

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Jessica Madinabeitia-600x400
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 couldn’t work...

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Joey Bruno
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 car out of his mind. “I was ...

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Day of Mourning
Day of Mourning BC 2022

April 25, 2022

A gathering that honours the memory of workers who have been killed, injured, or suffered illness because of work-related incidents is taking place at the end of the month.  In 2021, there were 161 work-related deaths in B.C. This is the highest it has been in the past six years, with the most dangerous subsector being General Construction. Three work-related death claims have been filed in the Okanagan-Similkameen region.  Day of Mourning BC hopes to renew our commitment to creating safer workplaces.   First recognized in 1984 by The Canad...

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