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Province Provides Funding For Local PSW Training

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The province is making $10.6 million available to train 500 personal support workers and other health care professionals in northwestern Ontario.

Labour and Skills Training Minister Monte McNaughton says each participant could receive up to $3,000.

“Costs for transportation, uniforms, equipment, and occasional child care are all covered,” states McNaughton.

“And for employers, they can receive $1,000 to offset the cost of on-the-job training.”

He adds that this project covers training, fees, and textbooks, prioritizing those who are unemployed, underemployed, or at risk of losing their jobs.

Each participant will receive a job placement in the community and ongoing support, continuing after they graduate.

Kathleen Lynch is president of Confederation College and they will be doing the training for the six-month courses.

“Confederation College will train 500 learners to be personal support workers, home and community support workers, and medical laboratory assistants and connect these trained workers with employers who urgently require their in-demand skillsets.”

Confederation College will provide the training at its campuses across northwestern Ontario.

To apply, you can email SAOhealthcare@confederationcollege.ca or call 807-475-6353.

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College Releases Decolonization Report

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Confederation College has a new road map to keep rooting out systemic anti-Indigenous racism.

President Kathleen Lynch says the school’s Decolonization Committee, involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, is presenting its new Decolonization Report.

It’s a work plan for how to carry out the 24 recommendations from a 2019 systemic racism report. The document lays out steps like training for all employees and creating a decolonization policy.

Those also include dealing with third-party vendors and making sure they have appropriate training, hiring more Indigenous people at the college, reviewing and changing policies and practices, and developing a tool kit to help Indigenous students in distress. .

The Decolonization Committee started its work in February 2020, and the pandemic forced it to delay the report and continue discussions in virtual meetings.

She points out this will involve some difficult conversations to confront systemic racism, which she says more people are starting to do after the discovery of a mass grave at a Kamloops, B.C. former residential school.

“But we have people who don’t understand that history, and don’t realize that we all have a part to play in reconciliation with Indigeous people,” she admits.

Lynch says this work will never be over, but they will give yearly updates and re-evaluate the progress they’ve made three to four years from now.

“I think we’ll need to refresh and say, ‘Well, what’s next now? What have we accomplished and what do we still have to do?’ and we will develop a report card for ourselves to see how we’re progressing,” Lynch adds.