K
athy Kinloch, president of BCIT,
exudes con©idence about her
school's role in training British
Columbians for the economy of
tomorrow. As she puts it bluntly, "We're
at the core of B.C.'s jobs plan from a
trades perspective."
The con†dence is not misplaced: last
year the province announced plans to
earmark 25 per cent of the $1.9 billion it
contributes annually to post-secondary
for programs feeding in-demand occu-
pations. Indeed, Kinloch—as leader of
Western Canada's biggest technical
school—might be considered at the core
of Premier Christy Clark's most-hoped-
for legacy: a richer B.C., backed by a
booming
LNG sector and supported by
more jobs in the skilled trades.
"BCIT's
strength is in applied educa-
tion," says Kinloch, who was appointed
president in January 2014. "How do we
deepen those partnerships with indus-
try? How do we make them more mean-
ingful, current and relevant?" In the case
of natural gas, "
BCIT is in the wheelhouse
of
LNG because of our ability to offer
skilled trades programs as well as aca-
demic programs."
The Alberta native and former nurse
is no stranger to transforming post-sec-
ondary institutions, having served as
president of Vancouver Community Col-
lege for nearly four years prior to arriving
at
BCIT. Nor is she a stranger to strategiz-
ing at a provincial level, having served as
a senior advisor to the B.C. Ministry of
Health a decade ago.
Now Kinloch's days are spent running
from one meeting or one event to the
next. She speaks constantly with govern-
ment, industry, faculty, sta" and students
in an e"ort to help steer
BCIT "ahead of
the curve." And yet, somehow, Kinloch
still †nds time for family: a husband, son
and two-year-old granddaughter. "We still
do family holidays," she says.
But the president, wife, mother and
hobbyist painter admits her "hyperki-
netic" schedule has felled one aspect of
her life: "I don't go home at nine at night
and start painting."
—Trevor Melanson
Kathy Kinloch
President, british columbia
institute of Technology
42 BCBusiness June 2015 adam blasberg
Public
sector
MOST
INFLUENTIAL
WOMEN IN
B.C.
sophie Pierre (a)
former chief
commissioner,
B.C. Treaty Commission
influenCe: as a longtime
and respected native
leader based in Cranbrook,
Pierre has been a driving
force in building bridges
with the provincial govern-
ment–and taking them to
task when they screw up,
as she did on her way out
the door of the commission
this past april after two
terms as commissioner.
faCtOid: Pierre was
recognized with the order
of British Columbia in 2002
and awarded the 2012 Gov-
ernor General's awards'
Diamond Jubilee medal for
outstanding achievement.
Christy Clark (b)
Premier, B.C.; Mla,
Westside-Kelowna
