Up to 32 eligible British Columbians will get skills training to prepare them for jobs as community health-care assistants in the Lower Mainland.

This is a new Community and Employer Partnership (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia and is intended for immigrants.

“There’s a shortfall of qualified community health-care assistants and personal-support workers in B.C. at the moment,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “This project will provide individuals with the skills and experience they need to secure good-paying jobs. At the same time, it will provide support and care to those British Columbians who need them the most.”

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction is providing more than $437,000 to Heritage Community College in Surrey to deliver skills and certification courses in two simultaneous intakes of its Community Health Care Assistant Program.

Participants will receive 28 weeks of occupational, employability and life-skills training, eight weeks of on-the-job work experience and six weeks follow-up support to assist in their job search. They will also receive certification courses in Foodsafe Level 1, Standard First Aid with CPR C, Student Practice Education Core Orientation and Provincial Violence Prevention for Health Care Workers.

“Heritage Community College is grateful to collaborate with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction to offer fully funded training to eligible candidates through this CEP project,” said Tanveer Dhesi, director, Heritage Community College. “Students are able to complete their training free of cost and give back to their community as health-care professionals. This training program is especially relevant during these difficult times of COVID-19.”

Funding for this project is provided through the Project Based Labour Market Training stream of WorkBC’s CEP. CEP’s aim is to increase employment and work experience opportunities for unemployed British Columbians through leveraging local community partnerships, shared information, technology and innovative practices.

“Many qualified people struggle to find good-paying jobs when they arrive in Canada, even though they have degrees and certifications from their countries of origin,” said Rachna Singh, MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers. “Heritage Community College provides newcomers the training and qualifications they need to find sustainable, well-paying jobs in the health-care sector, so they can support themselves and their families.”

Full-time, group-based classroom learning for this project starts on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Project activities run through to Oct. 1, 2021. Anyone interested in finding out more about this or other CEP projects can contact their local WorkBC Centre.

Quick Facts:

• More than $15 million will be invested in CEP projects around B.C. in 2020-21.
• This year, the provincial government also announced more than $4.4 million for health-profession related education and training at public B.C. post-secondary institutions.

Learn More:

Learn how CEPs are helping local communities: www.workbc.ca/Employment-Services/Community-and-Employer-Partnerships.aspx

Learn about how WorkBC can help find British Columbians jobs that are right for them: www.workbc.ca/rightforyou

Find your local WorkBC centre: https://www.workbc.ca/Employment-Services/WorkBC-Centres/WorkBC-Centres-Listing.aspx

Heritage Community College: https://www.hccbc.com/