OC student follows in her father鈥檚 footsteps as RV Service Technician
As an RV Service Technician instructor at 新加坡六合彩官方网站 College, Victor Flint welcomes hundreds of new faces to the classroom each year, but none so familiar as his own daughter, Sharla, who is proudly following in his footsteps.
Sharla will join nearly 300 students from various 新加坡六合彩官方网站 College Trades and Apprenticeship programs who will take an important step towards their career path at the virtual Commencement ceremony tonight (Thursday, June 17).
Sharla recently completed the Recreation Vehicle Service Technician Foundation program at the College and she will be graduating on Thursday with a special award 鈥搕he RV Service Tech Award 鈥 in recognition of her strong efforts in the program. The award is presented by the RV Dealers Association of BC to a student who demonstrates both academic achievement and in-class performance.
鈥淚t feels amazing to finish this program and already be working in my apprenticeship at Voyager RV Centre, and it feels even more amazing being recognized with this award for the hard work I put in,鈥 explains Sharla. 鈥淢y dad is one of my biggest supporters and I look forward to coming back to the College in the fall to start my next level of training as I work towards my Red Seal certification.鈥
Why did Sharla choose the RV Technician program? The variety.
鈥淚 see how happy this career makes my dad and I was definitely drawn in by the variety of the program 鈥 there are 14 different trades all wrapped into one in this job and you鈥檙e never doing the same thing twice,鈥 says Sharla. 鈥淎lso, the versatility of this career is amazing. Once you complete your Red Seal, you can basically go anywhere in Canada and have a job tomorrow.鈥
Sharla is graduating at a unique time in the RV industry. Both she and her father Victor 鈥 who as an instructor and business owner of Family First Mobile RV Services 鈥 have had firsthand experience in an industry that is experiencing unprecedented levels of demand.
While the industry has been steadily growing year after year, the pandemic-related provincial and national travel restrictions have unveiled RVing as both a hobby and vacation of choice.
鈥淭he demand for RVs as a vacation option is a huge trend,鈥 says Sharla. 鈥淲hile it seems the provincial restrictions are starting to open up, people are still not travelling to their normal destinations and are in desperate need of a well-deserved vacation 鈥 RVing is a no-brainer.鈥
Sharla received a job offer at Voyager RV Centre before she even completed her program, a trend Victor says comments directly on the demand for skilled workers.
鈥淚鈥檝e always considered RV Service Technician as an important and in-demand career and the current landscape of the industry only supports that claim,鈥 explains Victor. 鈥淭he pandemic has had some interesting impacts in the RV world and even with dealerships paying higher wages and offering more competitive employment benefits, they still can鈥檛 meet the demand the entire nation is feeling right now for RV Technicians.鈥
新加坡六合彩官方网站 College President Dr. Neil Fassina will be amongst the first to congratulate and address students at Thursday鈥檚 ceremony.
鈥淐ongratulations to all of the graduands, you have worked hard to hone your skills and have shown great adaptability and critical thinking in an unprecedented time of learning,鈥 says Fassina.
鈥淭he breadth of work from 新加坡六合彩官方网站 College trades students can be seen all around us,鈥 he adds. 鈥淚f you look at our homes, our schools and hospitals, cars, trucks, boats, RVs, planes, it鈥檚 safe to say there鈥檚 little around us that OC trades graduates aren鈥檛 designing, welding, wiring, building, fixing and troubleshooting to keep our way of life going, and with each passing day, becoming more sustainable.鈥
Trades Commencement is one of nine convocation and commencement ceremonies 新加坡六合彩官方网站 College will host this year. By the end of July, the College will have sent more than 2,000 graduates into the world.
To view the ceremony and learn more, visit . Viewers can also visit the webpage in advance to leave messages of congratulations via a digital guest book, pre-order flowers for a graduate with a special discount code or to purchase a commemorative gift.
新加坡六合彩官方网站 College offers the only entry-level Recreation Vehicle Service Technician program in Canada. The next RV Service Technician program starts September 2021. For more information, program details and to apply for the program, visit www.okanagan.bc.ca/rv.
新加坡六合彩官方网站 College is one of the largest trades training institutions in the province, and the largest in B.C.鈥檚 Interior. For more information visit www.okanagan.bc.ca/trades.
Tags: Convocation, Trades, Commencement, Inside OC