The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) offers what it touts as “education for a complex world.” This well-established technical school distinguishes itself from a traditional university or college with practical, flexible, applied education delivered by instructors who have direct, hands-on experience in their field. BCIT is also focused on meeting the demands of local employers, which includes a need for technology workers such as security systems technicians and software systems developers. Most recently, it introduced “microcredentials” – short, for-credit, modular programs or courses that help students quickly master new skills and gain knowledge essential in Canadian industries, such as Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Fundamentals in collaboration with the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Over on Vancouver Island, Camosun College offers training that goes beyond the classroom – more than 85 per cent of its courses and programs include experiential education and applied learning opportunities.

With two campuses in Victoria, Camosun’s popular certificate, diploma, and degree programs span a wide range of disciplines and industries, making it stand out from the many technology-focused colleges and training organizations. Programs of note include nursing, athletic therapy, environmental technology, criminal justice, bookkeeping, among many others.

Through its School of Trades & Technology, Camosun is one of BC’s largest trades and technical training providers and offers Engineering Bridge programs in partnership with universities for technology diploma grads looking to continue their education toward a degree. The college’s recently opened Trades Education and Innovation Complex encompasses more than 250,000 square feet of classroom, lab and yard space at its Interurban campus, and is dedicated to the delivery of 20 different trades foundation and apprenticeship programs.

The largest and oldest college in Vancouver lives up to its name – the school is well intertwined with the community it serves.

Just about every single one of the college’s programs require that students combine their academics with hands on training at local businesses. You need not look any further than its hospitality programs. Students who study culinary arts students get a chance to help run JJ’s Restaurant at the downtown campus, while the Four Corners restaurant and the Seiffert Market are run by VCC hospitality management students. Meanwhile, students enrolled in the hair design and esthetics programs run a salon on the college’s downtown campus that offers hairstyling and esthetics.

VCC’s offerings span the arts, business, trades, and health sciences with one-year certificates, two-year diplomas, and four-year bachelor’s degrees, and the college has a strong focus on accessibility for students with disabilities as well as improving levels of participation and success for Aboriginal students as a member of the Coastal Corridor Consortium.

Offering the most bachelor’s degrees and post-degree programs of any college in the province, Douglas College is the largest degree-granting college in British Columbia and well-known for combining the academic foundations of a university with the career-ready skills of a college.

Like the College of New Caledonia and the College of the Rockies, Douglas College is a well-rounded institution with programs spanning commerce and business administration, health sciences, humanities and social science, science and technology, and language, literature and the performing arts. The college focuses on making it easy for students to transfer to Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, as well as universities across the country, while emphasizing hands-on experience through work placements, field schools, field trips and labs.

With campuses and access centers spread across eight communities, Northern Lights College has a strong focus on the trades as well as energy sector related training. The college also has a strong continuing education portfolio that includes online courses as well as training and certifications for large truck driving and commercial vehicle inspection.

The college’s most well-known offering is its internationally renowned aircraft maintenance program – students will get to learn in an a 26,000-square-foot aerospace hangar at the Dawson Creek campus, housing more than a dozen aircraft. The campus is home to the Centre for Clean Energy Technologies, which runs on wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy systems, and hosts the college’s Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician program. Meanwhile, its Fort St. John campus is home to the Centre of Training Excellence for Oil and Gas.

Like many colleges in the province, Northern Lights has a strong focus on connecting and supporting the indigenous communities it serves, with Aboriginal Gathering Spaces on four of its campuses.

Another bootcamp option in Vancouver is BrainStation, which offers digital skills training and helps students connect with the city’s top employers such as Amazon, Electronic Arts, and Slack. Among the popular bootcamps designed to help students launch their tech career in one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world are software engineering, web development, user experience (UX) design and data science. BrainStation also offers part-time certificate programs in digital and social media marketing, cybersecurity, and design thinking.

As one of the province’s leading undergraduate institutions providing University Studies, Career Studies, and Continuing Studies programs, Langara College’s programs span arts, business, science and technology, humanities and social sciences, and health.

Of note are the college’s field studies, which combine studies and experience with travel. Students participate in credit or non-credit courses for a range of durations at different destinations – a recent option was to live, learn and earn at Disney with a program blending nine credits of academic coursework at the University of California, Riverside and at the Disney University with six months of supervised paid training at Walt Disney World. Closer to home, Langara offers courses for those who are currently employed and looking for professional development to upgrade skills or make a career change.

If want to learn how to code and get mentored while you do it, Lighthouse Labs’ Vancouver campus is where you go do it. Established in 2013, Lighthouse offers training for those who are just getting started and professionals who want to upgrade their coding skills, including reskilling and upskilling bootcamps for web development and data science. In response to real world demand, Lighthouse is launching a data analytics bootcamp that sets itself apart from data science and enables students to pick a path that best suits their interests.

If you’re the outdoorsy type, consider studying at Selkirk College, which touts itself as a “home away from home” by welcoming and supporting students from around the world with part-time, full-time, and online programs in many fields of study, including arts, sciences, business, health, environment, hospitality and tourism, and industry and trades. Its eight campuses in the West Kootenay region are ideally situated for those who enjoy hiking, swimming, snowboarding, or relaxing on the beach.

The college balances access to nature with access to the latest and greatest technology with its freshly renovated computer lab housed at its Castlegar Campus Library, which boasts 50,000 print books in its collection, as well as 250,000 e-books that are available to students, which keeps the college competitive with larger institutions with the quality and quantity of information it can provide students. Meanwhile, the Selkirk Technology Access Centre (STAC) is one one of 60 NSERC-funded Technology Access Centres (TACs) across Canada, and one of three located in British Columbia.

If you want to learn at an institution connected to the rich and diverse communities of Northwestern British Columbia, head out to Coast Mountain College for hands-on education, such as the college’s Automotive Service Technician Foundation or Carpentry Foundation programs. Overall, its program offerings span arts, business, health and social services, sciences, and trades, while also offering intensive spring and summer field schools that combine a full semester of learning into just a few weeks where students experience northwest BC’s incredible history, culture and environment. Most unique about Coast Mountain College is its Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, established to honour, recognize and continue the legacy of Haida artist Freda Diesing, a master carver, painter, and champion of First Nations art and culture.

Serving the communities of the East Kootenays out of Cranbrook along with several regional campuses, the College of the Rockies offers more than 60 programs and hundreds of courses, including fully online options. A well-rounded school, programs span arts, sciences, health, child youth and family studies, trades, technology, recreation, tourism, and business, while its Contract Training and Business Development department works with industry, organizations, and businesses to provide workforce training that meets the needs of regional business.

Serving the central interior of the province, the College of New Caledonia delivers a wide range of programs across business and management, community and continuing education, health sciences, and human services. Credits earned at the college can be transferred to select British Columbia universities toward a four-year degree. Most notable is its Fine Arts program, developed in collaboration with the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where students can take basic first year courses at the college’s Prince George campus and then transfer to Emily Carr’s Vancouver campus for their final three years.

Its name says it all – if you’re looking for training in justice, public safety or social services fields, the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) can help you at one of six campuses, including its main one, New Westminster. Through its 11 divisions within three schools spanning Public Safety, Criminal Justice and Security, and Health, Community and Social Justice, JIBC delivers degrees, diplomas and applied certificates, as well as on-site professional workshops and training to not only police officers, but also paramedics, firefighters and many other emergency management and security officers.

JIBC offers two four-year degree programs – a Bachelor of Public Safety Administration and its online Bachelor of Emergency and Security Management Studies. It has also collaborated with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on SUSS’s Minor in Paramedicine and Emergency Response.

The Canadian College of Technology and Business (CCTB) is all about aligning its technical training offering with the technology skills that are in demand and providing work placement opportunities and co-ops in a real-world setting.

Not surprisingly, popular courses today at the college include those around cybersecurity, such as its comprehensive 184-week cybersecurity risk management program with a co-op component or cybersecurity analyst program with practicum.

Overall, CCTB is focused on getting people trained to fill jobs that are in high demand in the technology sector, including those that require data engineering and analytics skills, as well as those in the hospitality and business arenas, all of which include co-op opportunities.

Vancouver Film School, a private career college located in downtown Vancouver — or “Hollywood North” — has been operating since 1987. The college offers state-of-the-art production facilities for film production, TV, animation and digital design, as well as acting classes. Fifteen post-secondary programs in total are taught by industry professionals across eight campuses in Vancouver.

Vancouver Film School’s most popular program is its diploma in film production, which culminates in the creation of a demo reel in year one. Students explore the five disciplines of filmmaking during the year and can specialize in two of five key creative streams: directing, cinematography, producing, production design and post-production.

If you want to get out of the rain belt, head out to Okanagan College, the largest B.C. college outside the Lower Mainland. It offers a broad range of programs across arts and science, business, trades, health, technologies, adult basic education, adult special education, and continuing studies, as well as ESL courses/language training, vocational and trades programs and four-year degrees in both business and computer information systems. Of note is Okanagan College’s Sustainable Construction Management Technology program based out of The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence at the Penticton campus, which provides practical, hands-on education in current and emerging green building techniques and technologies.

Located primarily on Vancouver Island, North Island College (NIC) began as a distance education institution but has grown to become a comprehensive post-secondary institution with a range of academic and career-training programs that span one-year certificates to four-year degrees and post-graduate studies. More traditional training options include early childhood care and development and human services, as well as more unique offerings such as certificate in metal jewelry design at its Campbell River campus. It also offers a wide range of programs for international students, while maintaining a strong sense of community for indigenous students with elders in residence, indigenous education managers and programs and courses.

With campuses in Merritt and Vancouver, the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) focuses on offering innovative and relevant credentials for future leaders in the fields of wellness, technology, governance, land, and economic development.

Formed as a private institute in 1983 by the First Nations bands of Coldwater, Nooaitch, Shackan, Upper Nicola and Lower Nicola, NVIT prides itself of being an Indigenous centre for excellence – students can expect to be taught through an Indigenous lens, no matter the program, as its heritage guides its programming. Notable offerings include education in Aboriginal Community and Health Development, Aboriginal Community Economic Development, and Aboriginal Early Childhood Education, and NVIT supports students throughout the province with online courses. Like most colleges, it offers co-op placements to facilitate hands-on learning and relationship building with industry.

NVIT’s indigenous roots are exemplified by its 16-member Elders Council, which not only supports students’ journey to higher education, but also assists and supports students spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.