The College of New Caledonia (CNC) has 16 seats for the province’s new Health Career Access Program which aims to enable people to train for high-demand jobs as health-care assistants caring for B.C.’s seniors.
"We're moving forward with our plan to expand the number of health-care assistants working in B.C. to strengthen the level of care for people in long-term care homes and assisted-living residences," said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health in a news release.
"The Health Career Access Program is underway and is already helping train workers for some of the most important jobs in B.C."
The $8.4-million investment will begin with is creating the first 600 new training seats at public post-secondary institutions for health-care assistants. This was announced in September 2020 to meet the demand for health-care assistants in B.C.'s long-term care and assisted-living residences.
Participants in the Health Career Access Program will be hired in long-term care and assisted-living facilities as health-care support workers.
They will be paid while they work and complete coursework to become health-care assistants. In addition, students who are currently completing a recognized health-care assistant program and who choose to take employment in the long-term care or assisted-living sector, and commit to a 12-month return-of-service, will be eligible for a recruitment incentive of $5,000.
"Government is investing in relevant programs to enable people impacted by COVID-19 to upskill or reskill so they can return to work or advance their careers," said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training in a news release.
"This funding for health-care assistant programs supports training for highly valued and respected workers who provide important daily care for our seniors in long-term care and assisted-living facilities."
Programs are underway at public post-secondary institutions throughout the province, and more are expected to start early this year.
The following health-care assistant programs are approved or already underway:
- College of New Caledonia - Vanderhoof and Prince George, 16 seats
- Douglas College - Coquitlam, 128 seats
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Langley, 64 seats
- Langara College - Metro Vancouver, 48 seats
- Nicola Valley Institute of Technology - Merritt, 18 seats
- North Island College, Campbell River - Comox, 16 seats
- Selkirk College - Castlegar, Trail, Nelson, Grand Forks, Slocan Valley, 61 seats
- Thompson Rivers University - Kamloops, Williams Lake, 102 seats
- Vancouver Community College - Metro Vancouver, 24 seats
- Vancouver Island University - Powell River, Nanaimo, Cowichan, 72 seats
Programs are under development at these institutions:
- Camosun College
- Capilano University
- Coast Mountain College
- College of the Rockies
- Northern Lights College
- Okanagan College
- University of the Fraser Valley
