The Ontario government has announced $2.4-million to train up to 300 personal support workers (PSWs) for long-term care homes in the Ottawa area.
The pilot scholarship program is being delivered at no-cost at Willis College.
This program includes four days of academic instruction (virtual learning) with one day of volunteer experience at a long-term care home per week.
Minister of Long-Term Care Dr. Merrilee Fullerton says this initiative is part of the province’s historic long-term care staffing plan released in December 2020.
At the centre of this plan is the government’s commitment to increase the hours of direct care for residents to an average of 4-hours per day over the next 4-years. This will require the education and training of new professionals to fill the more than 27,000 full-time equivalent jobs which will be needed to reach this standard. To implement this plan, the government will be investing up to $1.9 billion annually by 2024–2025.
You can get more details about the free PSW training at Willis College online here. Our reporters recently spoke to the President and CEO at Willis College about the news. You can read the previous story here: