Additional health-care assistant seats are being added to Okanagan College in Revelstoke to meet the demands for health-care services in local communities with one-time funding of $64,000.

“Our government is providing funding that will allow more students to train as health-care professionals in the Thompson Okanagan,” said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “The health-care assistant program at Okanagan College will help prepare students to meet the ongoing health needs of local communities throughout the region.”

Funding will support 12 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) seats in the 26-week program, which prepares students to provide care that promotes and maintains the physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being of clients. The program combines theory classes and a clinical practicum that will help students gain the skills and training they need to serve their communities.

The scheduled start date for the program is August 2017 at the Revelstoke campus.

“This one-time funding is great news for Okanagan College and the community of Revelstoke,” said Okanagan College president Jim Hamilton. “Health-care assistants play a critical role in our communities and providing an additional intake of the program will provide greater access to the education and training students need in order to meet the labour demands of our region.”

Health-care assistant graduates are in high demand throughout the province and play an important role as front-line caregivers who can work in both community and facility settings. Health-care assistants provide personal care that promotes and maintains the physical, psychological and social well-being of clients with a particular focus on the elderly and persons with disabilities.

“This offering of the health-care assistant program not only addresses a community need for skilled health-care workers in the community of Revelstoke, but also enables individuals who have a desire to work in health-care an opportunity to pursue this career when otherwise it would not be possible,” said Angela Godler, chair of the Okanagan College health-care assistant program. “This will change the lives of many community members from those providing the care to those receiving care.”

The health sector is one of the fastest growing fields in British Columbia and is part of a diverse, strong and growing economy. According to the 2025 B.C. Labour Market Outlook, the health sector employed 227,000 workers in 2015 and employment has grown at an average rate of 3.2% each year over the past decade.

Government is providing more than $1 million this year in one-time funding to support an additional 133 FTE seats at 11 post-secondary institutions throughout B.C.

Since 2008, the Province has provided annual one-time funding for additional education seats in health programs. Funding to date totals more than $16 million and has created almost 2,000 FTE seats.

Funding for health-care training is one of the key ways the B.C. government is taking action to strengthen, grow and diversify rural communities. Targeted health-care funding builds on the immediate investments and long-term action plan outlined in B.C.’s Rural Economic Development Strategy that are expected to create over 26,000 jobs and add $2.8 billion to provincial GDP.

Learn More:

B.C. Rural Economic Development Strategy: https://bcjobsplan.gov.bc.ca/b-c-s-rural-economic-development-strategy/

2025 B.C. Labour Market Outlook: https://www.workbc.ca/getmedia/00de3b15-0551-4f70-9e6b-23ffb6c9cb86/LabourMarketOutlook.aspx

Okanagan College: http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/