Kelowna Company Donates $50,000 for New OC Trades Complex

Another major donation has been made for the new Okanagan College Trades Training Complex, this one for $50,000.

Local construction firm Team Construction Management Limited has pledged $50,000 to the Bright Horizons Building for Skills campaign. The donation will help build a leading edge classroom space in the new complex, currently under construction.

“As a business owner, foremost in my mind is the fact that we need a good pool of skilled tradespeople to draw from, and that is what the College provides,” says Team Construction founder and president Gord Wilson.

Construction on the College’s new trades training complex began last June. Doors are expected to open in spring of 2016. The new complex will almost double capacity for trades students at the Kelowna campus, accommodating over 2,400 students per year.

Gord Wilson, founder and president of Team Construction Management (Photo Credit: Okanagan College)

“We are very appreciative of Team Construction for supporting this project, as we are of all the businesses and individuals that have stepped up to help us build for the future of trades training in the region,” says Jim Hamilton, President of Okanagan College.

Team Construction’s support of the project goes beyond the donation. Wilson is volunteering his time as a sector chair on the Bright Horizons Campaign, and Team Construction Project Manager Chuck Cullen—an alumnus of the College’s Carpentry program—is also helping the College spread the word about trades careers.

The campaign for the $33-million complex renovation and expansion project launched in October 2014. The goal of the campaign is to raise $5 million for capital construction costs and $2 million for program and student support. The provincial government has committed $28 million to the project.