Wilden Developers Donate $100K to Okanagan College Trades Building

Okanagan College’s new Trades Training Complex has received yet another financial boost from a Kelowna business, this one worth $100,000.

Blenk Development Corporation (Wilden Development) has pledged $100,000 toward the Bright Horizons Building for Skills fundraising campaign for the new Trades Training Complex at the Kelowna Campus. The donation will boost both student space and awards, with $75,000 going toward construction of a space in the new three-storey complex where students can study and relax between classes. The other $25,000 will be used to establish an award fund for trades students.

“We are proud and excited to support Okanagan College in this new chapter of its trades training,” said Russ Foster, President and CEO of Blenk Development Corporation. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to give back to our community, support the industry we are a part of, and invest in the future of trades in the Okanagan.”

“With more than 160,000 job openings in B.C. in the trades and related occupations projected by 2022, this new leading-edge trades training complex will allow us to train the skilled workers our province needs,” said Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. “When our students see local businesses like Wilden stepping up to invest in their futures, it inspires them and demonstrates the value our community places on education.

The new Trades Training tower along KLO Road is expected to open in the spring of 2016. When completed, it will accommodate more than 2,600 students per year. The Bright Horizons Building for Skills campaign launched in October 2014. The College is aiming to raise $5 million for capital construction costs and $2 million for program and student support, to top up the provincial government’s commitment of $28 million for the project.