New 575-seat tourism and hospitality centre to be built in Kelowna at Okanagan College

The provincial government has announced a new centre for food, wine and tourism at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus.

The centre will aim to address the critical labour shortage in the food and tourism sector, allowing the school to expand its culinary enrolment by over 125 students and year and hospitality and tourism enrolment by 450 students a year.

The B.C. government is contributing $44.8 million to the project, which will be built with mass timber, and will include modern teaching spaces, food labs, beverage research and development facilities, and common spaces. Okanagan College will contribute $4 million.

“The tourism and hospitality sectors are facing challenges in finding and keeping skilled workers, and Okanagan College is a leading provider of culinary and tourism programming in the province,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.

“This investment will ensure people can access world-class training supported by industry in the Okanagan, and can then go on to pursue a rewarding, meaningful career in the region’s equally outstanding hospitality industry.”

The province says the centre will be a first of its kind for collaboration between students and businesses in the food, beverage, hospitality and resort sectors.

Across B.C., there are 334,500 people working in tourism and hospitality, and 39,000 or almost 12%, are in the Okanagan.

“Being located in the Okanagan Valley, one of the leading food and wine destinations in North America, we are at a competitive advantage to deliver exceptional training and education in food, wine and tourism,” said Okanagan president Neil Fassina.

“Through this centre, we can expand our post-secondary programming and work with partners in new ways that benefit students in their careers, while supporting local and regional business. We are thrilled to be working with government, Indigenous communities and industry partners to continue elevating the Okanagan’s reputation as a world-class destination – both for food and beverages, and relevant learning opportunities.”