Okanagan College Turns $10M Gift Into Fall Entrepreneurship Courses

A $10-million donation from the Hall Family Foundation has produced its first tangible result at Okanagan College: a suite of entrepreneurship courses launching this fall, covering everything from a first idea to a scalable business.

The college announced the programming under its newly renamed Hall School of Business and Entrepreneurship. The gift, revealed earlier this year, designated part of the funds specifically to get new entrepreneurship programming running quickly — a commitment reflected in this fall's course lineup.

"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."

Baker said the college sees a broader opening in the region. "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 target learners with different needs and schedules. All can be taken online while an entrepreneur keeps working in their business. The lineup includes three main offerings.

The Start Up Lab: From Concept to Company goes beyond basic business theory. Learners work through their own concept step by step, with the goal of producing a real business plan they can execute or a pitch ready to deliver to potential investors.

The Entrepreneur's Toolkit is a series of short, focused workshops taught by people who have built businesses themselves. Entrepreneurs pick the specific skill they need next, including strategic planning, managing risk, preparing for a sale or navigating growth.

A Rural Entrepreneur and Artisan microcredential is designed specifically for rural and community-based realities. It helps learners turn a skill, craft or idea into a sustainable income.

The design philosophy behind the offerings is speed and flexibility, according to Mary Kline, director of InspirED Continuing Studies and Corporate Training at OC.

"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," Kline said. "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."

Okanagan College leadership framed the fall launch as the start of a longer buildout funded by the foundation's gift.

"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."

The college is also developing short courses built specifically for skilled trades entrepreneurs — tradespeople looking to start, run or grow their own business. The curriculum addresses needs unique to the skilled trades: setting up a trades business, licensing and WorkSafeBC requirements, 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 help trades business owners add practical tools, including working with AI, to their day-to-day operations. Start dates and registration details for those courses will be announced in the coming weeks.

Caitlin Hartigan, OC's Dean of Trades and Apprenticeship, said the trades-focused courses respond to pressures that generic business training ignores.

"Tradespeople run businesses with their own set of pressures, from safety compliance, hiring and training apprentices, managing a crew or staying competitive on bids," Hartigan said. "These courses are built around that reality, giving trades business owners the practical, relevant business skills they can immediately integrate into their operations."

For founders, artisans and trades business owners in the Okanagan, the message from Kelowna is direct: flexible, online training backed by an eight-figure gift is now arriving on a timeline measured in months, not years. Registration details are available at okanagancollege.ca/entrepreneurship, with the trades stream and further offerings expected to follow.