Ontario Growing the Number of French-Speaking Personal Support Workers in Long-Term Care

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.

QUICK FACTS

• Collège Boréal has existing partnerships with 26 homes: seven in Sudbury, two in Windsor, 10 in Toronto, two in Hearst, one in Nipissing, two in Kapuskasing, and two in Timmins.
• As of April 2023, 15 homes representing 1,623 beds are designated under the French Language Services Act, and there are 39 long-term care home capital projects in the development pipeline where operators have identified they intend to serve the Francophone population.
• Ontario is offering incentives of up to $25,400 to students and recent graduates of personal support worker education programs to launch careers in long-term care homes and in the home and community care sector.
• The Learn and Earn Program was developed in partnership with Humber College and was expanded in 2023.
• The Ontario government is investing up to $4.9 billion to create thousands of new positions for personal support workers and nurses in long-term care.
• As part of its plan to fix long-term care and address sector waitlists, the government is investing $6.4 billion towards building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care
• 2023 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Building a Strong Ontario Together

Source: Government of Ontario