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Okanagan College pilot to roll back apprentices’ time away from work

December 8, 2016 | By Renée Francoeur


Photo courtesy Government of B.C.

December 8, 2016 – A new “innovation pilot” at British Columbia’s Okanagan College seeks to improve training outcomes and employability for apprentices by reducing their time away from work from 10 weeks to five.

The pilot, which just received a boost of $218,000 from the province, involves the level 1 electrician program and aims to develop a hybrid model for students, which would include face-to-face instruction, as well as e-learning to deliver the curriculum.

“It is important that we find new and effective methods of delivering trades training to our students, and this pilot program at Okanagan College is a great example of how it’s done,” said Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission. “Online learning is a valuable tool that will become even more important for career-minded women and men in the Okanagan.”

The Industry Training Authority (ITA) invited B.C.’s 14 post-secondary institutions and 24 non-public training providers that receive annual ITA funding to submit innovation pilot proposals this year, the purpose being “to test and evaluate novel methods of delivering trades training programs that result in better outcomes for apprentices and their employer sponsors”.

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