OCNews

Collaboration & Partnerships

Gixtaala Nation carpentry grad
OC supports Gitxaala Nation with vital trades training for economic and cultural growth

January 24, 2022

In one northern village, Indigenous cultural needs and massive construction projects combined to create demand for specialized Okanagan College Trades training to support community members. Located on the north coast of British Columbia, the Gitxaala Nation’s main community is in Kitkatla. It identified the need for skilled trades people several years ago, as projects such as the LNG Canada in Kitimat and port expansion in Prince Rupert were announced. But it was a smaller project closer to home that inspired Gitxaala Nation to empower its ...

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Logos of SAIT, Kanaka Bar Indian Band and Okanagan College
Partners launch resilient housing solutions project at Kanaka Bar to assist with rebuild of fire-ravaged Lytton, B.C., region

January 13, 2022

Kanaka Bar Indian Band, SAIT, Okanagan College, Foresight Canada and Seko Construction partner to harness innovation to provide options for the rebuild of the region Kanaka Bar, B.C. (Jan. 13, 2022) — Patrick Michell, Chief of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, announced today they have entered into an agreement with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) on a pilot project focused on climate-resilient housing options for evacuees who lost their homes in the June 30, 2021 Lytton, B.C., wildfire. The project is expected to reveal susta...

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OC's Finance Club
OC business students seek community support to launch investment fund

January 5, 2022

Justin Rantucci and Steven Fiust speak highly of their education at Okanagan College, but there is one thing they would like to change.  When networking with other finance students at post-secondary institutions across Canada, they learned that schools with a student-run investment fund seemed to result in a better transition to finance careers for their graduates. Seeing an opportunity to provide hands-on experience for more OC students while building capacity locally, Rantucci, Fiust and fellow student Riley Dunsmore are looking to launch...

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Candlelight Vigil text overlay on an image of candles lit in the background
Dec. 6 Candlelight Vigils return to OC’s Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses

December 2, 2021

Candlelight is returning to Okanagan College’s campuses, as a symbolic commitment to end violence against women. Communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap are marking the 32nd anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, in addition to the ongoing cases of missing women from the region, with a Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 6 co-hosted by a network of organizations and volunteers. “The SAFE Society has been partnering with Okanagan College and students for over a decade to offer the Dec. 6 event, as an important way to remember and honour wome...

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Two people checking into a hotel handing a credit card to hotel staff standing at a desk
New funding connects people to tourism careers in the Okanagan

November 15, 2021

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction has announced a program that will provide skills training to as many as 30 eligible British Columbians to prepare them for jobs in the hospitality industry in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions. “Graduates of this skills-training project will be qualified for a variety of jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “The training participants receive will prepare them for exciting careers and give them an oppor...

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Four Food Chiefs Sculpture
Soaring Indigenous sculpture unveiled in OC's new Health Sciences Centre

November 3, 2021

A nine metre (30 foot), hand-cut metal sculpture by local Indigenous artist Clint George is now installed and proudly on display in Okanagan College's new Health Sciences Centre. The sculpture represents the Four Food Chiefs, and depicts the Syilx Okanagan oral history (or captikʷɬ) on how food was given. James Coble, Director of Student Services and Indigenization Task Force Chair at Okanagan College, says the sculpture demonstrates the College’s commitment to creating welcoming spaces for Indigenous students. “The opportunity to create a ...

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Kelly Terbasket
kinSHIFT: a powerful—and local—way to learn about Truth and Reconciliation

September 27, 2021

Kelly Terbasket of IndigenEYEZ has created a new sister organization for allies—kinSHIFT. Launched this spring, kinSHIFT is a tailored set of workshops for non-Indigenous allies who want to take the next step. Designed in response to increasing requests from people who want to be genuine allies, kinSHIFT is a safer space to do the work.                                                                          ------------ As a person of mixed heritage, I've always felt the divide between cultures and wanted to be part of bridging awareness a...

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Alanah Coss FortisBC Award Recipient
FortisBC powers up support for women and Indigenous students

September 24, 2021

New awards and opportunities for mentorship with FortisBC are making it easier for female and female Indigenous students to be successful with their trades education. FortisBC recently set up three scholarships for women in trades with a focus on supporting female students who are at the mid-point in their education. The scholarship comes with the potential for the student to meet with FortisBC representatives and connect with someone working in a role they may be interested in pursuing in the future. "We wanted to support students in payin...

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FruitSnaps Team
Volunteers needed for a sweet cause: Enactus OC students invite community to join them in picking apples

September 17, 2021

A group of Okanagan College business students are once again putting the call out for volunteers from OC and the community to help them harvest fruit that will be used to make healthy snacks for children and others in need. Launched in the fall of 2018, Fruit Snaps is a Vernon- and Penticton-based project co-ordinated by Enactus OC students in partnership with the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners Society facility. It’s focused on taking unused apples from local orchards and dehydrating them into snacks for local schools. The Fruit Snaps team ...

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Okanagan College and UBCO collaboration powers up Wilden Living Lab Phase 2
Building the energy efficient home of the future

August 23, 2021

Okanagan College and UBCO collaboration powers up Wilden Living Lab Phase 2  It’s a research partnership that’s about more than bricks and mortar. Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan — together with Wilden’s Blenk Development Corp., AuthenTech Homes and FortisBC — have broken ground on Phase 2 of the Wilden Living Lab research project.  Phase one started in 2016 when two homes were built side-by-side in Wilden. One was built to current building codes including a natural gas furnace, standard plumbing fixtures and appliances, double pane windo...

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Jillian Harris holding a Jilly Box
Jillian Harris sets up award fund to support underrepresented students

August 20, 2021

A much-coveted subscription box from Canadian influencer and Kelowna local Jillian Harris will open up more than just surprises for recipients, but opportunities to support a generation of historically excluded students at Okanagan College with every subscription sold.  Jillian Harris, through her fall Jilly Box, is raising $50,000 to create awards for Indigenous students, Black students and students of Colour at Okanagan College.  The Jilly Box is seeding the fund with $15,000 and subsequently, will match donations up to $10,000. When the ...

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BCBTAC Logo
LCRB Clarifies Legality of Sample Distribution for Wine Releases

July 5, 2021

Sent on behalf of the BC Beverage Technology Access Centre  BC BTAC Consults with Licensing Branch to Confirm Legality of Wine Sample Delivery The province’s Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) confirmed this week that the local beverage sector may legally deliver taste-sized samples of their product, which is great news for boutique producers and medium to large companies alike as it will allow for the traditional ‘Vintage Release’ for BC wineries in virtual format. In searching for ways to offer up its services to support bever...

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Edible Garden
Edible garden project at OC’s Penticton campus to feed students, community members

June 29, 2021

A partnership between Okanagan College's Penticton campus and the Medical Arts Research Group is helping to root out food insecurity amongst students and local families. An edible garden program is being established on the north end of the Penticton campus, with the aim to provide fresh vegetables to OC students and food bank patrons in the community. Medical Arts Research Group donated the wood and fence material for the project. Raised garden beds were built in May by students in the Women in Trades Training program, and installed outside...

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OC Culinary Arts students and the OC Inspiration Box
Partnership dishes up meal ideas by OC Culinary Students and local food products

June 24, 2021

A new partnership between Okanagan College and produce supplier company Farm Bound is bringing locally sourced organic foods to your doorstep with delicious summer-ready recipes crafted by OC Culinary Arts students. Food-lovers can now order the OC Inspiration Box from the Farm Bound website. The box has fully portioned ingredients for recipes to make Middle Eastern Chicken Za’atar, Carrot and Radish Salad, Pea Risotto with Asparagus and a spice blend to make your own Za’atar Spice Mix. Not only will you learn new recipes but also a few cul...

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Children Outdoor Play
Post-secondary partners seek to unite early childhood education instructors across Canada

April 28, 2021

Virtual conference will focus on outdoor pedagogy in college ECE programs How does playing in the mud support children’s cognitive and social development? Why is outdoor play such a powerful conduit for learning? How can we advance curriculum to empower current and future early childhood educators (ECEs) to tap into it? These and other questions will be explored during a unique virtual conference next month that will bring together ECE instructors and outdoor play experts from across the country. On May 18, Okanagan College, in collaborati...

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Growing Green Earth Day
OC doing its part to reduce emissions

April 22, 2021

As the world’s leaders gather on Earth Day 2021 to discuss steps to battle climate change, Okanagan College is pointing to recent statistics that demonstrate how far its energy savings efforts are advancing B.C.’s sustainability agenda. Calculations completed this week show that OC has reduced its total overall greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 44 per cent since 2007 – this in the face of an overall growth in space of 44 per cent in the same period. The calculations show that OC has managed to decrease its per-square-metre emissions by more...

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