The National Occupational Standard for Personal Care Providers

Educators, workers, and employers in the long-term care, home care, and community services sector have a new tool to help reduce skills gaps, better understand job expectations, and improve consistency of service and care for clients.

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) released the first-ever National Occupational Standard for Personal Care Providers. Personal care providers are mostly unregulated workers known by over 60 different job titles across Canada including personal support workers, continuing care assistants, health care aides, and resident care workers. While the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial role they play in caring for Canadians, it also exposed pervasive skills gaps, labour shortages, and inconsistencies across jurisdictions.

The national occupational standard (NOS) was created to address these challenges and serves as a set of voluntary guidelines. It outlines what workers in the occupation do and the skills necessary to succeed in the occupation. That means job seekers can better plan their career paths, employers can focus on recruiting the right workers with the necessary skills, educators can create curriculum based on clear learning objectives, and workers, including those who were internationally trained, can have their skills and experience more easily assessed and recognized.

To learn more read the Media Release