TORONTO — The Ontario government is delivering on its plan to protect the province’s long-term care system by investing more than $21 million in two programs that will help 700 long-term care staff upgrade their skills. The programs are designed to help workers in rural and northern communities gain new qualifications to advance in their careers and ensure long-term care residents get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve.
“We’re making record investments to staff, build and upgrade long-term care across Ontario, including in rural and northern communities, to ensure residents have the safe and supportive homes they deserve,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We will continue to support innovative programs like Learn and Earn to ensure residents in rural and northern communities have access to quality care.”
The government’s investment builds on its existing $4.9 billion four-year staffing plan, which has focused on recruitment, training and retention and helped add tens of thousands of personal support workers and nurses to the provincial workforce. The historic increase to support staff comes as the government surpassed its target of an average of four hours of daily direct care for residents by nurses and personal support workers in 2025.
Continuing this momentum, Ontario is investing $21.5 million over four years to train 700 new long-term care staff through two targeted programs:
- The PSW Learn and Earn Program — Ontario is providing $17.6 million in new funding to help existing long-term care staff, including resident support personnel and dietary aides, train as personal support workers (PSWs), through online coursework followed by paid, on-site clinical placements.
- PSW to PN Learn and Earn Program — Ontario will invest $3.9 million to train 40 current PSWs to become registered practical nurses, giving eligible staff the ability to advance their careers and provide better resident care.
Both programs will be delivered by Humber Polytechnic and build on the early success of the Learn and Earn program that has already supported the training of more than 600 PSWs, helping to deliver more direct care to residents across the province. The program is especially beneficial to rural, remote and northern regions, as homes can grow their own staff and students can train without having to leave their communities.
“Our government is building a strong staff training pipeline to retain more workers and improve resident care,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “This new investment will help existing staff build the skills they need to grow their careers and ensure long-term care residents continue to receive world-class care close to home.”
Building the long-term care workforce is one more way the government is ensuring Ontarians get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. The plan to improve long-term care is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.