Ontario Invests $17 Million to Train 700 New PSWs and Nurses in Long-Term Care

OSHAWA — The Ontario government has announced a $17 million investment in programs aimed at bolstering the long-term care workforce by training 700 new personal support workers (PSWs) and nurses in 2025. This initiative is part of the province’s broader Your Health plan, designed to recruit and retain tens of thousands of long-term care staff in the coming years.

Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care, emphasized the importance of growing the workforce to enhance care for seniors while also supporting career advancement for staff. “Our government is growing the long-term care workforce so residents get more of the high-quality care they need in the right place,” she said.

Expanding Training Programs

The bulk of the funding, $14 million, will go towards expanding the Preceptor Resource and Education Program for Long-Term Care (PREP LTC). Launched in 2022, the program has already facilitated over 27,500 clinical placements for nursing and PSW students across more than 500 long-term care homes. The additional funding will support 650 new clinical placements and train 500 new preceptors to supervise students, ensuring these facilities can backfill staff while preceptors are in their roles.

An additional $2.6 million will expand Humber Polytechnic’s PSW Learn and Earn Accelerated Program. This initiative provides existing long-term care staff who are performing personal support services without formal certification the opportunity to upskill and obtain a PSW certificate. The expansion will accommodate 100 more staff members in 2025.

In Oshawa, I announced our government’s $17 million expansion of the PREP LTC program, which funds student clinical placements in long-term care homes; and the PSW Learn and Earn Accelerated Program at @HumberPoly.

Both programs will allow us to train 700 new PSWs and nurses for… pic.twitter.com/tOqg92pr4m

— Natalia Kusendova-Bashta (@NatKusendova) December 10, 2024

Progress in Workforce Development

Since 2020, Ontario’s investments in long-term care workforce development have resulted in the training and hiring of over 24,000 PSWs and 3,000 nurse graduates. Highlights include:

• Living Classroom Program: Nearly $11 million has been allocated to train up to 900 new PSWs on-site in local long-term care homes.
• Supporting Professional Growth Fund: More than 45,000 eligible staff have received ongoing education and training opportunities since the fund’s launch in 2021.
• Supervised Practice Experience Partnership Program: This initiative has helped over 1,000 internationally educated nurses qualify as registered nurses in Ontario.
• Nurse Practitioner Initiative: Since 2022, 150 full-time equivalent nurse practitioner positions have been added across 155 long-term care homes.

Building a Better System for Seniors

Ontario’s long-term care strategy is built on four pillars: staffing and care, quality and enforcement, modernizing facilities, and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to services.

With the latest investment, the government aims to strengthen the long-term care sector, ensuring that seniors receive the high-quality care they need in safe, modern, and well-staffed environments.

This announcement underscores Ontario’s commitment to addressing workforce shortages and enhancing care for seniors in long-term care homes.