ONTARIO-The Ontario government says it is investing nearly $75 million in programs that will train students and workers over the next three years for careers in long-term care.
“Our government is protecting our long-term care system by adding skilled, qualified care providers to the workforce,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Ontario’s investments in training will prepare thousands of people for rewarding careers, while ensuring our long-term care home residents get skilled, professional care.”
The following four programs are receiving more than $58 million:
- $22.5 million over three years in the Bridging Education Grant in Nursing (BEGIN) program to provide tuition and other supports to help people advance their careers. The program helps personal support workers (PSWs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) train to become RPNs and registered nurses in exchange for a work commitment following graduation. To date, the program has supported more than 1,500 participants to bridge to a nursing role and then enter the long-term care sector. The extension is expected to add 877 more nurses to the sector.
- $18 million over three years in the PSW District School Board Bursary Program to support the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators’ work to help 6,000 more people complete their personal support worker training.
- $3.89 million over three years in the Francophone PSW Learn and Earn Program at Collège Boréal to help existing long-term care staff train to become personal support workers without leaving their home communities. Since 2024, it has helped 65 French-speaking long-term care home staff become qualified personal support workers, and will now train up to 120 more.
- $13.8 million over two years to support personal support worker, practical nursing, and pre-health education programs at eight Indigenous Institutes. The funding will create opportunities for more students to graduate from PSW and practical nursing programs with a strong sense of cultural competency that can be applied to caring for Indigenous residents both within Indigenous communities and across the province.
The province is also providing up to $15.5 million in base funding under the Supporting Professional Growth Fund in 2026-27. Eligible long-term care homes use this funding for the ongoing education and training of staff who work directly with residents.
Homes can apply the funding to learner costs such as course fees, backfilling of staff undergoing training, and coverage for eligible staff who deliver in-house staff training. Since 2022, the fund has helped over 143,000 staff advance their careers.
