British Columbia trains, recruits more allied health professionals (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Health

Media Relations
250 952-1887 (media line)

Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training

Media Relations
250 883-0969

Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation

Media Relations
778 587-3237

Backgrounders

Public post-secondary institutions receiving seats

As many as 322 new ongoing and one-time allied health seats will be added to B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions.

The anticipated intake timelines for the new seats are as follows. Timelines and programs are subject to institutional, ministerial and regulatory college approvals.

Thompson Rivers University
New seats: 10 anesthesia assistants
First intake: September 2021

University of British Columbia
New seats: two genetic counsellors
First intake: September 2023

British Columbia Institute of Technology
New seats: 16 medical laboratory technologists
First intake: September 2022

College of New Caledonia
New seats: 12 medical laboratory technologists
First intake: January 2023

British Columbia Institute of Technology
New seats: 12 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologists 
First intake: January 2023

College of New Caledonia in partnership with Selkirk College
New seats: 10 pharmacy technicians
First intake: August 2023

Okanagan College
New seats: 16 pharmacy technicians
First intake: June 2022

Vancouver Island University in partnership with Selkirk College
New seats: 15 pharmacy technicians
First intake: August 2022

Capilano University
New seats: 20 rehabilitation assistants
First intake: January 2023

Thompson Rivers University
New seats: 20 respiratory therapists
First intake: September 2022

University of British Columbia – Okanagan
New seats: 10 social workers
First intake: September 2022

University of British Columbia
New seats: 16 occupational therapists
First intake: September 2023

University of British Columbia
New seats: 12 dietitians through a new master’s of nutrition and dietetics
First intake: September 2022

University of Victoria
New seats: 15 social workers
First intake: September 2023

British Columbia Institute of Technology
New seats: eight radiation therapists
First intake: September 2022

Justice Institute of British Columbia
Advanced-care paramedic bridging program: demand-driven program
First intake: fall 2022

Expansions for the following programs are also planned with further details to come:

  • occupational therapist: 16 seats in 2026
  • physiotherapist: 40 seats (20 seats in 2024, and 20 in 2026)
  • rehabilitation assistant: 20 seats in January 2024
  • speech-language pathologist: eight seats in September 2024

One-time funded seats:

Medical laboratory assistant: 24 seats at Vancouver Community College in May 2022, with student supports at Camosun College for January and September 2022 intakes, and regional distribution of Thompson Rivers University’s program through 2022.

Respiratory therapist: as many as 20 additional fast-track seats at Thompson Rivers University in September 2022.

Supports for post-secondary education, training for health professionals

Health care is one of the fastest growing fields of employment in B.C. and is an important part of a strong, resilient economy. By investing in learning spaces, hospitals, clinics, equipment and front-line care providers, more people, such as seniors, young families and children, will be able to access the health care they need when they need it.

Since 2017, government has provided ongoing annual targeted funding of close to $140 million for health-education programs to public post-secondary institutions across B.C., but also providing one-time additional investments to respond directly to health workforce demands.

Increasing nursing training:

  • In February 2022, the B.C. government added 602 new nursing seats to approximately 2,000 seats in nursing programs at B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions. The new seats include 362 registered nursing seats, including 96 new seats at BCIT, 40 registered psychiatric nursing seats, 20 nurse practitioner seats and 180 licensed practical nurse seats at 17 public post-secondary institutions. As part of this expansion, new seats will support health-care assistants who want to train as a licensed practical nurse as well as those looking to move into a career as a registered nurse.
  • A new nursing program in Fort St. John allows, for the first time, people to train to be a registered nurse in the northeast.
  • The number of specialty nurse training seats at BCIT has increased to 1,000 annually. The nurse practitioner programs at University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and University of Northern BC have all expanded, and a new program is under development at Thompson Rivers University.
  • Since 2017, the number of nurse practitioner seats has more than doubled, as well as a 46% increase in practical nursing seats and 22% increase in bachelor of nursing seats.
  • To meet the increasing demand for nurses in British Columbia, the Province has also recently launched new supports and bursaries to make it easier for eligible internationally educated nurses to enter the province’s health system, so they can support British Columbians’ health-care needs sooner.

Training more health-care assistants:

  • The Province is working with post-secondary institutions to expand health-care assistant training as part of the Health Career Access Program.
  • Through this program, government is recruiting 3,000 health-care workers in home and community care, long-term care homes and assisted-living facilities throughout the province.
  • As of January 2022, there have been 3,819 hires and almost 2,500 people are enrolled in a training program.
  • This program is supported through investments of $30.2 million to help thousands of people up-skill or re-skill, and is added to the $8.5 million announced as part of StrongerBC: B.C.’s Economic Recovery Plan.

Expanding physical therapy training:

  • The Province is investing $24.9 million into the purchase and renovation of new program space in Surrey so that the University of British Columbia can expand its masters of physical therapy program in the Fraser region, helping to train and retain health professionals in the area.
  • Twenty new seats will be available this fall, with those students moving to the new location in Surrey when it opens in 2023.
  • Physical therapists are identified as high-demand jobs, with 1,860 job openings in B.C. expected between 2021 and 2031.

Investing in health-care innovation:

  • The Province recently announced a $25-million investment into a new learning environment for the school of biomedical engineering at the University of British Columbia.
  • Biomedical engineering combines engineering principles with medical sciences to design, create and evaluate equipment, computer systems and software used in medicine and health care.
  • Spanning many fields, biomedical engineering focuses on improving human health, including designing and building artificial internal organs and body parts, such as hip joints; designing computer software to operate complex medical equipment, such as 3D X-ray machines; and developing new drug therapies.

Improving access and affordability of post-secondary education:

  • The Government of B.C. is investing in student housing as part of Homes for B.C., a 10-year housing plan with 8,000 new on-campus student beds to be built by 2028.
  • To date, 6,837 new beds (3,950 government funded, 2,887 funded by the institutions) for student housing are open or underway, so more British Columbians have affordable housing alternatives to pursue post-secondary education.
  • The Province ended interest payments on student loans in 2019, saving students $40 million so far.
  • The B.C. government launched the BC Access Grant – the first new grant in 15 years – with 32,000 students receiving more than $36 million for tuition since 2020.
  • In May 2022, the Province invested $3.75 million to support scholarships for graduate students at 10 public post-secondary institutions.
  • The Province introduced the B.C. Graduate Scholarships in 2018 and invested nearly $20 million to support student success and decrease barriers for graduate students in all regions of the province.
  • The Province eliminated tuition fees for former youth in care age 26 and under, including for trades training, which has helped more than 1,600 students.