Question Period Note: Federal Support for Training Personal Support Workers

The shortage of Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in the long-term and home care systems has been a growing issue for several years, particularly in the context of an aging population, and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada is funding a $38.5 million pilot project to address acute labour shortages in long-term and home care.

This funding is being used to recruit and train up to 2,600 new Supportive Care Assistants through an accelerated online training and hands-on work placement.

It is anticipated that the pilot will also support up to 1,300 of these Supportive Care Assistants to pursue full Personal Support Worker certification.

As announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, ESDC is funding a $38.5M pilot project to help address labour shortages in long-term and home care.

Launched in December 2020, the Long-Term and Home Care pilot will:

test a new recruitment and training model for Supportive Care Assistants (accelerated 6-week online training program, followed by a paid work placement);

develop a career advancement pathway to assist new workers to upgrade their micro-credential to a full PSW certificate; and

explore how to improve consistency in PSW training programs, qualifications, and competencies, with the goal of developing a proposed competency framework and National Occupational Standard.

As of March 6, 2023, there were 1,689 reserved seats for the pilot project, with more than 1,400 students in online training. In addition, 619 students are in paid work placements, 346 have already graduated and 87 are pursuing PSW certification.

Additionally, as part of the pilot project, a National Occupational Standard (NOS) for PSWs was developed and published by Colleges and Instititues Canada in November 2022. Its intent is to serve as a set of voluntary guidelines to address skills gaps and inconsistencies across jurisdictions. The NOS is meant to serve as a reference point to help employees, employers, and educators understand what workers are required to do within their role. It can be used as a guideline to create workplace standards, performance expectations, and as the basis for developing training curriculum.

As well, through Labour Market Transfer Agreements with provinces and territories, it is estimated that approximately 2,500 PSWs are trained each year.

While the Government of Canada recognizes provincial and territorial jurisdiction in this sector, it can play an important role to help address skills and training priorities. These initiatives are meant to supplement, not duplicate, provincial or territorial efforts already underway in the supportive care sector.

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