Health care assistant stock image (Dreamstime 22157279 )

By Liam Verster

38-week program

Free health care assistant training program coming to Vernon

Jan 26, 2022 | 6:00 AM

A free training program will help Vernon and area residents looking to become a health care assistant.

Discovery Community College (DCC) is being supported by the B.C. Care Providers Association (BCCPA) to provide the training programs in communities across the province, including in Vernon.

Geoffrey Johnson, an Administrator at DCC, told Vernon Matters the program will help train people to become health care assistants, who could then work in a variety of settings.

“[Health care assistants] do person-centred care aimed at promoting and maintaining the physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being of clients,” said Johnson.

“We work in opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to function effectively as front-line care givers and respective members of the health-care system.”

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The graduates from the program could work in home-support, assisted living, residential complex care, special care units, community care settings or in acute care. In those settings, health care assistants help move people around and clean clients, so they should be prepared for that kind of work.

Johnson says the starting wage for these types of positions are around $25 per hour.

The 38-week program will begin in February and go through November. It will require about 20 hours a week of work with lessons going from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and all day Thursdays and Fridays.

Johnson said that 65 to 70 per cent of the course will be held virtually for classroom work. Work is underway to set up a training location in Vernon for practical lessons as well.

Following that, students will go out and work in the sector as part of a practicum. The practicum includes work at a multi-level or complex care facility and in home support or assisted living.

Johnson told Vernon Matters that there are just 16 spots available for the program in Vernon, though the program is being offered in a number of cities, including Kelowna, and they may be able to have a person from Vernon participate through one of those other communities.

The requirements are a high school diploma, with a special focus on English 12 or an equivalent program; a criminal record check; and immunization records as per health care guidelines. A laptop or home computer will also be necessary for the virtual classroom portion of the course.

Johnson said the program typically costs between $6,000 and $10,000, but thanks to the provincial support, it will only cost students the $28 for a criminal record check.

He noted that with the additional strain the health care sector has faced in the past few years, it’s very important to be able to offer this program.

“There’s a shortage of workers right now, hence why the government opened this up so we could get more workers into the field,” said Johnson.

“There’s a lot of jobs out there looking for workers who are educated and we want to fill up that field as much as possible.”

The training program is being funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement.

The health care assistant training program in Vernon begins February 23 and runs to November 18. Applications can be filed through the BCCPA website.