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 (personal care providers are also called PSW, HCA, CCA, CHCA, etc.) depending on the province or territory.). 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.


A national microcredential! The Supportive Care Assistant Program is a free micro-certificate created to attract and rapidly train new workers for the personal care sector.
Learn More

Over 400 long-term care employers across Canada have benefited from the support of students in the Supportive Care Assistant Program, and 70% of students who completed the program were hired at the place where they completed their work placement.

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3
Good Health and Well-being
Goal 4
Quality Education
Goal 8
Decent Work and Economic Growth
We are Canada’s skills solution. Our national programs and projects give learners of all ages the tools to meet labour market needs and help drive economic growth. We work across all sectors and give learners accessible opportunities to learn new skills, strengthen the skills they already have, and put their skills to use in new ways.

In partnership with

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.