Commercial Helicopter Pilot Certificate is a certificate in Aviation Studies programme taught at Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada. The programme runs for 2 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 83,000 per total for local students.
This certificate complements the Commercial Aviation program and follows a Transport Canada approved curriculum, sharing courses with the Commercial Aviation Diploma. Coursework addresses the particular challenges of operating helicopters both within Canada and internationally, building fundamental and advanced skills for commercial helicopter pilots. Graduates finish with the preparation needed to sit Transport Canada's written and flight tests for commercial helicopter pilots, with business training from the Okanagan College School of Business included alongside the flying-focused coursework.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Domestic applicants only, per the College's program page.
Regular applicants: B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent, English 12 or an accepted alternative, and the mathematics requirement below.
Mathematics: at least 50 per cent in one of Pre-Calculus 11, Foundations of Mathematics 11, Principles of Mathematics 11, Applications of Mathematics 11, Apprenticeship and Workplace Mathematics 11, Apprenticeship Mathematics 11, ABE MATH 011, ABE MATH 080, ABE MATH 084 together with MATH 085, or ABE IALG 011 - or at least 16 out of 25 on the Okanagan College mathematics diagnostic test.
Mature applicants: at least 19 years old and out of full-time secondary study for at least a year; secondary graduation is waived, but English and mathematics still have to be met.
Program requirement: a personal laptop meeting the published specification.
Note: the calendar entry covers academic entry only - medical certification and licensing prerequisites for commercial helicopter training are handled separately, so speak to the department before applying.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes published by Okanagan College for this program: September 2026 (Kelowna); January 2027 (Kelowna). Campus availability differs by intake and the program page shows which are still open.
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants: there is no fixed closing date. Okanagan College opens applications on October's first business day each year, and programs that run several intakes across the year - Entry-Level Trades Foundation and health programs other than Nursing and Dental among them - keep taking applications for those intakes over the following ten months. Most programs accept applications right up to the start date and close only when the seats are gone, so apply early and check each intake's status on the program page. Apply through EducationPlannerBC; the fee is $30 CAD. This program is offered to domestic applicants only.
