A new career skills certificate launches this summer for Revelstoke employees and employers looking to boost their success in the workforce, thanks to a partnership between the chamber of Commerce and Okanagan College (OC).
Now opening its 2025 Summer Ambassador Program, which awards tourism perks to locals who enrol in courses to help promote the city to visitors, Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce will collaborate with OC's Revelstoke Centre to deliver a free eight-module certificate that supports professional development.
This latest addition to the Revelstoke Ambassador Program brochure comes at the request of numerous local businesses and has been in the works with OC for more than 18 months, according to Chamber CEO Caroline Lachapelle.
鈥淢any businesses have expressed the need for more opportunities for their staff to gain important career-building skills," she said in a release. "Our new partnership with Okanagan College is a testament to our joint commitment to workforce attraction and retention in Revelstoke."
The certificate, titled Career Skills for Success, will build participants' competence in organizational skills, time and stress management, and conflict resolution, along with generally boosting confidence and expanding career paths for employees and employers alike.
Anyone interested in the certificate can enrol at revelstokechamber.com/ambassador/#CS4S.
To join the program as a Revelstoke ambassador, residents can complete two short and self-paced modules on local knowledge and customer service excellence. In return, they receive a Revelstoke Ambassador Pass that possesses more than 20 discounts and benefits with Chamber-member businesses, so that participants can better explore and advocate for tourism in the community.
Last summer, the Chamber expanded program eligibility so that anyone employed by or volunteering for any sector of Revelstoke's workforce may participate.
"As a resort municipality, Revelstoke鈥檚 visitor experience is shaped by more than just employees in traditional tourism roles," Lachapelle said. "Whether through a conversation, a service, or a recommendation, workers across all industries contribute to the overall impression visitors take away from Revelstoke."
Funded by the B.C. government's Resort Municipality Initiative, the program most recently enjoyed more than 550 participant ambassadors during its 2024-25 winter run.
The 2025 Summer Ambassador Program runs until Sept. 30. Learn more and enrol at revelstokechamber.com/ambassador.
