With a shortage of Personal Support Workers in the region, Pinecrest is opening its doors to students.
A new collaboration between Kenora's Confederation College and Pinecrest is beginning in the fall. A new classroom is being built to give students hands-on experience to help them become personal support workers.
The Living Classroom is a concept where students will learn theoretical aspects of the job, and then put them to use in Pinecrest, and help residents while they're at it.
Laura Christie, Director of the Lake of the Woods and Red Lake Campuses of Confederation College, spoke about the program.
“It's a unique education experience. Students learn, and then put it to practice very quickly. We've been offering the PSW program for a while, but the living classroom is a new concept. We've only heard of it being offered in one other school in Southern Ontario. So it's a really exciting concept,” she said.
Christie noted that the shortage of PSW's in the region, and said introducing this program will help bridge that gap.
“There definitely is a shortage. This is an opportunity for people to learn, and work while they go to school. There will be an opportunity for them to be hired by Pinecrest part-time, before the program wraps up. It's a great opportunity," she said.
Fourteen seats are available for the program, that will be starting in the fall. Christie noted that Confederation College is happy to help.
“It's a very important thing for us to continue to partner with the community, and organizations and businesses, to be able to provide education and training to help them fill their work force,” she said.
Christie says that if you are interested in learning more about the program, you can contact Pinecrest or Confederation College directly.
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