New incentives will help attract thousands of PSW students and recent graduates to connect people to care
TORONTO — The Ontario government is investing more than $300 million over three years to help thousands of people launch careers as personal support workers in long-term care homes and in the home and community care sector. Recruiting more personal support workers is part of the province’s Your Health plan to connect long-term care residents to more hours of direct care and expand home care services.
“Our government is fixing long-term care by training, hiring and retaining thousands of people to provide high quality care for residents,” said Stan Cho, Minister of Long-Term Care. “These incentives will help people launch rewarding careers, increase the hours of direct care our residents connect to, and support the staffing needs of rural, remote and northern long-term care homes.”
“Personal support workers play a critical role in helping people in Ontario connect to the care they need in the comfort of their own home and in their local community,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Bolstering our number of personal support workers in the home care sector allows us to increase people’s access to in-home services which prevents unnecessary hospital and long-term care admissions, shortens hospital stays and provides people with the choice to stay in their own home longer.” Ontario is now offering new incentives of up to $25,400 to students and recent graduates of personal support worker education programs, including:
- Up to $5,400 to students while they complete their clinical placement in long-term care or home and community care;
- $10,000 for current students and recent graduates who commit to working in a long-term care home or with a home and community care service provider for 12 months; and
- $10,000 to help with relocation costs to graduates who commit to working in a long-term care home or with a home and community care service provider in a rural, remote or northern community for 12 months.
These incentives are retroactive to April 1, 2023 for students who recently completed their clinical placements and personal support workers who started working in long-term care or home and community care. Students who started a district school board personal support worker program on or after April 1, 2023 will also have their student fees waived or reimbursed.
For information on becoming a personal support worker and how to take advantage of the government incentives, visit: ontario.ca/gopsw. Ontario is continuing to increase the amount of direct care provided to long-term care home residents to ensure residents receive four hours of direct care per day by 2025, and more personal support workers are needed to meet this goal. Direct care is hands-on care that includes help with dining, bathing and dressing, as well as other important tasks such as helping residents move and providing medication.
Ontario is also expanding the delivery of home and community care services to help more people connect to the care they need in the comfort of their own home. The home and community care sector provides care to an estimated 1.3 million people and their families, including more caregiver supports and respite services, bereavement and behavioural programs to assisted living services for people with brain injuries. Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care focuses on providing people with a better health care experience by connecting them to more convenient options closer to home while shortening wait times for key services across the province and growing the health care workforce for years to come.