Okanagan College in Kelowna hosts youth skills competition

Students ready to shine

Photo: Okanagan College

A student at Skills Regionals event.

Okanagan College is preparing for the 2026 Skills B.C. Regional Trades and Technologies competition later this month.

More than 200 middle and high school students are expected to descend on the Kelowna campus on Feb. 20, to compete in a wide variety of events.

"Welcoming students to our campus for the Skills Regional competitions is always a highlight for us,” said Caitlin Hartigan, OC dean of trades.

This year's event marks more than two decades that the college has served as the exclusive Southern Interior host for this event. Students from as far as Revelstoke and Osoyoos will compete in traditional categories like welding, cabinetmaking, and culinary arts, alongside newer additions such as animation and sumo robots.

"These competitions encourage young people to explore the trades and discover their full potential,” said Jessie Sunner, minister of post-secondary education.

The event serves as a bridge between local classrooms and future careers, allowing young people to take on real-world challenges while also exploring post-secondary options. This year’s schedule also includes the 41st annual Spaghetti Bridge Building contest, where students compete to see whose pasta-based engineering can hold the most weight.

The public is invited to watch the action unfold, starting at 10 a.m.

The winners earn the chance to compete at the Skills Canada province-wide contest in Abbotsford, with winners moving on to the national Skills Canada event that takes place in Toronto this May.