College Diploma - Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant

The Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant diploma is a two-year dual-credential program preparing graduates to work under the direction of both professions.

The physiotherapy side covers functional anatomy, therapeutic exercise prescription and progression, mobility and gait training, modalities including heat, cold and electrotherapy, and musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation. The occupational therapy side covers activities of daily living assessment and retraining, adaptive equipment and assistive technology, cognitive and perceptual rehabilitation, splinting and positioning, and home and workplace modification. Shared content includes pathology, documentation, professional ethics and interprofessional practice, with placements in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and community settings.

The dual credential is the commercial advantage: graduates are employable in both departments, which roughly doubles the available job pool compared with a single-discipline assistant qualification.

Clinical placement is a mandatory, graded component. Placements require immunisation records, a police vulnerable sector check, CPR certification and mask fit testing — students who cannot complete these cannot progress, so arrange them early.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The North campus in Etobicoke is its main site, running technology, engineering, health science, business and skilled trades programs in purpose-built labs and shops rather than lecture halls, with three intakes a year and the deepest employer network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Its field maps to CIP 51.0803 (Occupational and physical therapy assistant). 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.