Building Capacity in Long-term Care

Building Capacity in Long-term Care (BCLTC) supports and strengthens the health sector by mobilizing Canada’s colleges and institutes to address acute labour shortages in long-term care, home care and independent living.

The project collaborates with colleges and institutes from across the country to implement and advance the Supportive Care Assistant (SCA) program. SCA is a fully subsidized microcredential course developed by CICan’s member partners to attract and rapidly train new long-term care workers. It involves 6 weeks of flexible online training followed by a 2 – 4 month paid work placement.

After graduating from the Supportive Care Assistant Program, students can access a $5,000 stipend to further their studies to become a personal care provider (PSW, HCA, CCA, PCA, or RCW). The $5,000 can help cover costs associated with the new training and can be used for tuition, books, certifications, dependent care, uniforms, transportation etc.

Working with educators, employers, provinces and territories, and other stakeholders, BCLTC also released the first National Occupational Standard for Personal Care Providers, (personal care providers are also called PSW, HCA, CCA, CHCA, etc depending on the province or territory.)

This standard will help employees, employers, and educators understand what workers need to know to succeed in their roles. That means job seekers and workers can better plan career paths, employers can focus on recruiting the right workers, and educators can create curriculum based on clear training requirements.