Tourism HR Canada and Okanagan College sign MOU to equip students for meaningful careers in growing sector
(OTTAWA, ON) – Tourism HR Canada and Okanagan College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) supporting the sharing and enhancement of programming that will contribute the growth of a world-leading tourism workforce.
The partnership comes as Okanagan College is establishing the new Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism, a multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art facility that will provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and equip them for success upon graduation.
“Canada’s tourism sector has set ambitious growth targets for domestic and overseas visitation,” states Philip Mondor, President and CEO of Tourism HR Canada. “To reach these goals, we require graduates with the latest skills and a passion for delivering incredible experiences. Partnerships such as this are instrumental in offering students top-level education and showing them how far a career in tourism can take them.”
The College will design and develop new tourism and hospitality programs and courses to meet Tourism HR Canada’s industry-validated National Occupational Standards, which outline the skills and knowledge for over two dozen tourism roles. Program development will also weave in criteria laid out in Tourism HR Canada’s SMART+ Accreditation program, which recognizes best practices in program development, delivery and improvement, and outcomes measurement.
Committed to ensuring educators and students have access to the latest labour market intelligence and industry insights, Tourism HR Canada will supply relevant research and data, and assist with advisory or connection requests. It will also sit on Okanagan College’s Tourism and Hospitality Program Advisory Committee, lending its 30-plus years of experience to support programming.
Building on both parties’ strong history of research, they will seek opportunities to collaborate, particularly on research tied to the local tourism labour market.
The College will leverage Tourism HR Canada’s Propel Student Work Placement Program to promote and secure meaningful work-integrated learning opportunities for students, connecting them with the wealth of tourism and hospitality employers in the Okanagan Valley and Shuswap regions—or further afield—for immersive on-the-job learning.
“The tourism sector across Canada is a major driver of our economy and a major employer with one in 10 employed Canadians working in the sector,” said Joe Baker, Dean of the Okanagan College School of Business. “It also holds the potential to make a positive impact on our local communities and our sustainability goals. As OC embarks on a renewed ambition to elevate the local, provincial and national visitor economy through our programs and new facilities, we are proud to be strengthened by this key partnership.”
Okanagan College offers a range of tourism and hospitality programs, from a Tourism Management Diploma to a Culinary School, certificates in viticulture, wine sales, winery assistant, landscape horticulture, and a hospitality professional program. With Canada’s tourism workforce yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, graduates with the work-ready skills this partnership seeks to enhance will have ample opportunities to elevate this $113.4 billion sector.
About Tourism HR Canada:
Tourism HR Canada is a pan-Canadian organization with a mandate aimed at building a world-leading tourism workforce. As a National Sectoral Workforce Council, it facilitates, coordinates, and enables human resource development activities that support a globally competitive and sustainable industry and foster the development of a dynamic, inclusive, and resilient workforce. The organization works with the industry to attract, train, and retain valuable tourism professionals by giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed in their careers and entrepreneurial endeavours. Learn more at TourismHR.ca.
About Okanagan College:
Okanagan College is located in Kelowna, BC, in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. It has campuses in Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, and Salmon Arm and provides programming designed to get people working in Business, Trades, Health, Arts and Science, and Technology programs. Find its website at okanagan.bc.ca.
Media contacts:
Tourism HR Canada:
Heather Elder
Director, Marketing
helder@tourismhr.ca
Okanagan College:
Kevin Parnell
College Relations
kparnell@okanagan.bc.ca