Sprott Shaw College

In 1903, Robert James Sprott partnered with William Henry Shaw of Shaw Colleges to open the first Sprott Shaw College campus, then called Vancouver Business Institute, but renamed to Sprott Shaw Business Institute.[3]

Following the success of the first college, they opened more campuses across cities in Western Canada including Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Victoria.[4]

By 1921, the Sprott Shaw chain was the largest commercial school in Western Canada with 12 banner schools across Canada and a few locations in the United States.[5]

In 1964, Ernie Henderson of Henderson Colleges purchased and acquired Sprott Shaw and was the owner until his death in 1974. After this, the Victoria campus was then purchased by Commander Robert N.G. (Bud) Smith, who operated the school until 1988, when Terry Hackett purchased the school.[6]

Ever since its inception, Sprott Shaw College has offered programs based on the demands of the market.

In their early years, Sprott Shaw specifically designed programs to retrain military personnel after the Second World War. This training included Morse Code, Radio Broadcasting, and Aviation. During this time, the college also established a broadcast station, with a signal connection that could be read as far away as Hawaii.

In addition to being a pioneer of commercial radio in British Columbia, Sprott Shaw began one of the province’s flight schools. Their flight school took over British Columbia Airways and offered flight training at their Aviation School. During this time, gliders were used to teach students elementary flight principles.

In 2012, the school, formerly known as Sprott-Shaw Community College, restructured into Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Shaw Degree College. In 2013, Sprott Shaw Degree College was renamed Ascenda School of Management. In 2016, Acsenda School of Management became part of the EduCo Education Group which provides post-secondary programs in 16 educational institutions and partnerships in four countries.

Today, the modern campuses of Sprott Shaw train over 2,500 students each year at 16 campuses across British Columbia. All locations feature small class sizes, hands-on training, and job placement support.

Sprott Shaw’s program offerings today include Practical Nursing, Dental Assistant, Early Childhood Education, Community Support Worker, Sales and Digital Marketing, International Trade, Design, Trades, and much more.