Okanagan College (OC) is expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs with a new suite of short courses and a microcredential offering upgraded programming across the spectrum of entrepreneurship from a first idea to successful business.
The new courses launch this fall and are designed around one question: what do entrepreneurs need to move forward with their business or business idea?
“The Okanagan has always been built by courageous people with gritty ideas and the relentlessness to persist,” said Hall School of Business and Entrepreneurship Dean Joe Baker. “That’s the kind of entrepreneurship we want to fuel. Not theory for theory’s sake, but technical and durable skills and the confidence to test an idea, get it into the market and build something that scales.
“We have an opportunity to contribute to the Okanagan becoming one of Canada’s great entrepreneurship regions, and this programming is part of how we get there.”
The courses are designed for a wide range of learners who have different needs and schedules and can be taken online while an entrepreneur continues to work in their business. Among the programs are:
- The Start Up Lab: From Concept to Company. Beyond basic business theory, learners work through their own concept step by step, with the goal of building a real business plan that they can execute or a pitch that they’re ready to deliver to potential investors.
- The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit. This series of short, focused workshops, taught by people who have built businesses themselves lets entrepreneurs pick exactly the skill they need to tackle next, including strategic planning, managing risk, preparing for a sale or navigating growth.
- Rural Entrepreneur and Artisan microcredential Designed specifically for rural and community-based realities, helping learners turn a skill, craft or idea into a sustainable income.
“These new offerings are built around the reality that entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of time, but want and need to build certain skills quickly,” said Mary Kline, director of InspirED Continuing Studies and Corporate Training at OC. “This is a prime example of what we do with our programs, where we offer flexible, applicable learning for people at every stage of life and career.”
This new programming is one of the first tangible outcomes ofa transformational $10-million gift from the Hall Family Foundation, announced earlier this year, which renamed the College’s business school as the Hall School of Business and Entrepreneurship. Part of the gift was designated to get new entrepreneurship programming up and running quickly — a commitment reflected in this fall’s course lineup.
“The Hall Family Foundation’s gift will build a legacy for students and community members to develop and grow in our region,” said Dr. Samantha Lenci, Okanagan College Provost and V.P. Academic. “Launching this programming this fall shows what’s possible when a gift like this is established thoughtfully, and it’s just the beginning of what we will offer entrepreneurs.”
New short courses built specifically for skilled trades entrepreneurs are also in development, designed for tradespeople looking to start, run or grow their own business. The courses address the needs unique to the skilled trades, from the basics of setting up a trades business, licensing and WorkSafeBC requirements, to bookkeeping and budgeting, building a business plan, growing a trades network and managing people on the job site.
A dedicated growth and operations stream will also help trades business owners add practical tools, including working with AI, to their day-to-day operations. Start dates and registration details will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Tradespeople run businesses with their own set of pressures, from safety compliance, hiring and training apprentices, managing a crew or staying competitive on bids,” explained Caitlin Hartigan, OC’s Dean of Trades and Apprenticeship, Caitlin Hartigan. “These courses are built around that reality, giving trades business owners the practical, relevant business skills they can immediately integrate into their operations.”
Visit okanagancollege.ca/entrepreneurship for more information.
