Ontario Growing the Number of French-Speaking Personal Support Workers in Long-Term Care
Expanded training program helps French-speaking long-term care staff upskill to become personal support workers
The Ontario government is investing more than $2.5 million over two years to train up to 90 French-speaking long-term care staff, such as resident support personnel and dietary aides, to become personal support workers (PSWs) through the Learn and Earn Accelerated Program.
“Our government is helping long-term care workers grow their careers as personal support workers, and connect residents in rural, remote and northern long-term care homes to more hands-on direct care,” said Stan Cho, Minister of Long-Term Care. “The expanded Learn and Earn Program will help even more Francophone residents across Ontario connect to culturally appropriate services in their language of choice.”
Originally developed in partnership with Humber College in 2022, Collège Boréal will now expand the Learn and Earn Program to French speaking staff across the province and has existing partnerships with 26 long-term care homes in Sudbury, Windsor, Toronto, Hearst, Nipissing, Kapuskasing and Timmins. The college will train three cohorts of up to 30 participants, for a total of up to 90 PSW students by 2025.
The program consists of full-time online coursework followed by a paid clinical placement at the long-term care home where the learner already works. Because participants can build their skills without leaving their communities, this program is particularly valuable for rural, remote and northern homes.
The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. The plan is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.
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“Our government is investing in building the capacity of the Francophone workforce in our long-term care homes. With its solid expertise, hands-on approach and numerous campuses located in regions with strong Francophone communities, Collège Boréal is an ideal institution to participate in the Francophone component of the training program for personal support workers in long-term care homes. The health of all Ontarians is at the heart of our priorities, and it’s essential that our Francophone seniors have access to French language services and to linguistically appropriate care. This investment demonstrates our government’s ongoing commitment to improving the availability of French-language services in Ontario.”
— Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs
“At a time when life expectancy is increasing in our province, it’s important to swiftly train more specialists whose skills can effectively meet the needs of our aging population. With this new Learn and Earn Accelerated Program for Personal Support Workers, Collège Boréal is pleased to support the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s initiative to address the labour shortage in this compassionate and rewarding field.”
— Daniel Giroux, President of Collège Boréal
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES