Confederation College Continues to Offer Personal Support Worker Accelerated Program

THUNDER BAY, ON, May 17, 2022 – Confederation College today announced it is expanding its Personal Support Worker (PSW) program offerings this spring. The PSW Accelerated program will enable learners to complete the program in just six months with no tuition fee, alongside funding support for expenses such as textbooks and a paid work placement.

“This Personal Support Worker Accelerated program adds an important pathway for students to gain the skills and experience they need to successfully pursue this critical career,” said Shane Strickland, Dean, School of Health, Negahneewin and Community Services. “There is considerable demand for trained PSWs in the northwestern Ontario region and beyond. This opportunity not only creates additional PSW seats for prospective students, it reduces barriers to the program by offering financial support.”

Confederation College will be offering intakes of the PSW Accelerated program starting on June 6 across its eight campuses in northwestern Ontario. Applications are being accepted now with seats awarded to eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Funding available also extends, in part, to students who began the PSW program in the College’s winter semester. Those students may be eligible for a $2,000 scholarship and a paid work placement.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this program to all of our regional communities,” said Anne Renaud, Dean, School of Access and Success. “This program addition will further leverage our strong relationships with long-term care and other partners across northwestern Ontario, while also serving to fill the growing gap in skilled PSWs they are challenged with.”

Confederation College’s standard PSW program offerings include fall and winter intakes for its full-length PSW program and a part-time intake. For more information about the Personal Support Worker program at Confederation College, visit www.confederationcollege.ca/PSW. To apply to the PSW Accelerated program commencing this spring, visit www.ontariocolleges.ca/PSW, selecting the “compressed” option for any of Confederation College’s campuses.

-30-

Confederation College has been serving the citizens of northwestern Ontario since 1967 meeting the educational needs of students in a catchment area of some 550,000 square kilometres. Along with its main

campus in Thunder Bay, Confederation College has seven regional sites located in Dryden, Fort Frances, Greenstone, Kenora, Marathon, Sioux Lookout and Red Lake, as well as a growing Distance Education division.

Confederation College delivers exceptional education and training to an average of 7,000 combined full- and part-time students per year and currently has a total of 600 full- and part-time employees. Confederation’s regional economic impact and contribution is valued at $707.3 million annually.

For more information, please contact:

Jenna Kelos, Communications Officer

Cell: (807) 632-5680, E-mail: [email protected]