College Certificate - Personal Support Worker

The Personal Support Worker certificate at Lakeshore is an eight-month program training front-line care providers for long-term care, home care and community settings.

Content covers personal care and activities of daily living, safe transfers and mobility assistance, infection prevention and control, nutrition and assisted feeding, dementia and cognitive impairment care, palliative and end-of-life support, mental health awareness, abuse recognition and mandatory reporting, documentation, and communication with clients, families and care teams, with placement in care settings.

This is the fastest route into Canadian healthcare employment and Ontario’s long-term care and home care shortage is severe. It is also physically and emotionally demanding work at modest pay — many graduates use it as an entry point and bridge into practical nursing. Note this program also runs at the North campus; check which site your intake is offered at before arranging housing.

Field placement requires a police vulnerable sector check and, in most settings, immunisation records and CPR certification. Students who cannot clear these cannot be placed, so arrange them early.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The Lakeshore campus sits on the shore of Lake Ontario in south Etobicoke, next to Colonel Samuel Smith Park, and is home to Humber’s business degrees, media and creative arts, and social and community services programs. Heritage buildings, a residence opened in 2024 and a free shuttle to the North campus make it the most distinctive of Humber’s sites.

Its field maps to CIP 51.2602 (Home health aide/personal care aide). Important: this is a college credential rather than a degree, so it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s eligible list when you apply. Humber publishes a PGWP-eligible program list with CIP codes; check it, and confirm with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. IRCC makes the final decision.