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Ontario Enhancing Personal Support Worker Training

“Our government is committed to making investments that will ensure Ontarians have access to the care they need, and private career colleges have an excellent track record preparing students for in-demand roles in health and long-term care,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “We’re making it easier for more students to train as personal support workers at private career colleges to prepare them for critical jobs caring for some of the most vulnerable people as we build a more resilient and stronger health care system across Ontario.”

Quick Facts

• In 2021-22, the province committed to spending up to $200 million to train up to 16,200 additional personal support workers through publicly-assisted colleges, private career colleges and district school boards.
• PSW training is the second highest enrolment category at private career colleges in Ontario, and private career colleges train the majority of PSWs in the province.
• On March 2, 2022, the government announced an investment of up to $34 million over four years to increase enrolment in personal support worker and nursing programs at six Indigenous Institutes.

• A Better Place to Live; A Better Place to Work: Ontario’s Long-Term Care Staffing Plan is the province’s plan to increase the hours of direct care for residents to a system average of four hours per resident, per day by March 31, 2025. The plan sets out actions to hire more staff, improve working conditions for existing staff, drive effective and accountable leadership, and implement retention strategies.
• Job postings for personal support workers have more than quadrupled (+443 per cent) since 2017, with over 5,000 postings in 2021.

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