- Level
- 2-Year UG Diploma
- CIP code
- 51.2601
- Duration
- 2 Years
- Field
- Nursing and Healthcare Management
- Institution
- Public College
- Offer speed
- Fast Offer Speed5–7 days
Program overview
The College Diploma - Health Care Assistant at Selkirk College’s Castlegar campus is a 2 year college diploma training front-line care providers for BC's health system.
Students learn personal care, mobility support, dementia and palliative care approaches, and safe client handling, applied through clinical placements in regional care settings. The HCA credential leads to registration with BC's Care Aide Registry — the ticket to employment across the province's care sector.
Selkirk College, founded in 1966 as British Columbia’s first regional community college, is a fully public institution in the province’s West Kootenay region. The 65-hectare forested Castlegar campus offers genuinely small classes, on-campus student housing, and some of the lowest combined tuition-and-living costs of any BC public college. University courses transfer to UBC, SFU, UVic and other BC universities through the province’s formal transfer system, and graduates working in the region can pursue the BC Provincial Nominee Program toward permanent residence.
This program is registered in the field of CIP 51.2601 (Health aide (verify registered CIP)) and is offered to international students under Canada’s post-November-2024 PGWP field-of-study rules; two-year programs support a Post-Graduation Work Permit of up to three years. Selkirk College maintains a live list of PGWP-eligible programs and seat availability changes by intake — verify this program on the official list and with IRCC before applying (final decisions rest with IRCC).
What it costs per year · indicative
Living cost is an estimate; tuition is the institute's published international fee. We confirm exact, current figures before you pay anything.
Do you qualify?
These are the published minimums. Whether your profile fits — with your marks, gap and budget — is exactly what a free counsellor check confirms.
Admission requirements
Who can apply (guide for international students):
- Education: Completed Class 12 (10+2) from a recognised board with approximately 50% or better.
- IELTS: R-5.5, W-5.5, L-6.0, S-6.0, Overall 6.0
- TOEFL iBT: R-18.0, W-18.0, L-20.0, S-20.0, Total 80.0
- PTE: Not accepted
- Duolingo: Not accepted
- GRE/GMAT: Not required.
- Specific requirement: 60% in Grade 12 English required.
Application fee $100 CAD. A BC Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) is arranged through the college as part of admission. International seats are capped and popular programs genuinely fill — apply early, and ask an Apply Study Visa counsellor to confirm current seat availability and PGWP status before applying.
English requirements
Documents you'll need typical · we confirm yours
- Valid passport (6+ months validity)
- Class 10 & 12 marksheets and certificates
- English test scorecard (IELTS / PTE / TOEFL) or MOI certificate
- Statement of Purpose (SOP)
- Financial proof — bank statement / loan sanction + GIC
- Passport-size photographs
- Study-gap affidavit or work-experience letter (if applicable)
Getting documents right is the #1 reason applications succeed or get refused — our team checks every file before submission.
Career opportunities
HCAs are among BC's most recruited health workers:
- Health Care Assistant / Care Aide — long-term care and assisted living
- Home Support Worker — community home-care services
- Acute Care HCA — hospital support roles
- Private Care Provider — agency and private-hire work
- Interior Health Employee — the region's largest employer
- Nursing Ladder — a proven step toward practical and registered nursing
BC's care-aide shortage is provincial policy priority — health fields sit squarely on the PGWP-eligible side of the post-2024 rules.
About Selkirk College
- Type
- College
- Ownership
- Public
- Rating
- ★ 4.5
- World rank
- #10223
- Reference No.
- O19360990072
