Okanagan College adding new medical lab programs with provincial funding

Okanagan College is expanding its health-care training options with a $1.5 million investment from the Province of British Columbia to help launch new Medical Laboratory Technologist and Medical Laboratory Assistant programs.

The programs, expected to begin in September 2027, will provide students with hands-on training to prepare for careers in hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, community health centres and other health-care settings.

The investment will support the development of specialized learning spaces, equipment and resources needed to train the next generation of laboratory professionals. The province says the programs will help address ongoing workforce shortages in medical laboratory services across B.C.

Medical laboratory professionals play a critical role in health care, collecting and analyzing specimens that help diagnose, treat and prevent disease.