Inspiring a Future of Prosperity

BCIT recently announced that the new Trades and Technology Centre will bear the name of Vancouver-based real-estate developer Concert Properties in recognition of the company’s long-standing commitment to supporting students and trades training at the Institute.

Once completed, the Concert Properties Centre for Trades & Technology will provide a space for innovation in skilled trades and engineering, applied learning, research and industry collaboration, and build capacity for 700 additional students which will alleviate trades training waitlists and help to build up a healthy talent pool in BC. The Centre will also anchor the new and renewed nine-building Trades and Technology Complex, under development at BCIT, featuring a covered works yard, simulation-based learning areas, maker spaces, and power, welding and construction areas.

Concert donated $7.5 million as the Lead Donor for the Centre, which represents a key phase of BCIT’s INSPIRE Campaign that brought together government, industry partners, donors and alumni to usher in a new era of applied education at BCIT. It will also serve to bolster BCIT’s reputation as a future-forward learning community positioned at the intersection of innovation, technology, and industry partnership.

 “We’re extremely humbled and honoured to see our long-standing commitment to trades training programs and BCIT recognized in this way,” said Dr. David Podmore, OBC, Concert Co-Founder & CEO and Honorary Doctorate of Technology at BCIT. “This Centre and these programs are key to equipping diverse, hardworking Canadians with the skills to secure well-paying jobs in construction, and we remain committed to working with our industry partners to find practical solutions to challenges that affect us all.”

David has led the INSPIRE Campaign as chair since 2018, helping to bring over $100 million in funding for the Trades and Technology Complex and BCIT, which is the leading and largest provider of trades education in the province of British Columbia.

The Concert Properties Centre for Trades and Technology will help meet the demand for an estimated 85,000 new trades jobs expected over the next 10 years in BC. It will set a new standard for applied education, research and collaboration to advance education, industry, and society.

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