New Employment Trends for Personal Support Workers

One thing we have noticed in the healthcare industry is the trend of large healthcare service providers using a larger number of personal support workers to do the same overall amount of work.  You may have noticed an increase in job postings for personal care workers with a lot emphasising their urgency in hiring new personal support workers.  In theory this increase in hiring is a good thing, but the flip side is that while new personal support workers are being hired, the hours they are receiving are not adding up to full-time hours.  Additionally, the hours that many established personal support workers are being scheduled for are consistently going down.  This seems to be a deliberate and concerted effort by large healthcare providers to ensure that their personal support worker staff does not qualify for full-time status.  Why would they do that? Will if you are an employer, it is advantageous to you to keep your employee base at a part-time level.  Why? Because part-time employees are essentially only entitled to their salary.  They are not entitled to consistent hours or anything else.  When an employee becomes full-time, they become entitled to a consistent set of minimum hours, in many cases, an increase in salary, and finally, they are entitled to benefits.  Thus, the reason why the trend among larger healthcare providers to hire more personal support workers at part-time hours, rather than fewer personal support workers at full-time hours.

Do Males Have a Harder Time Getting Hired as Personal Support Workers?

This is a question that I have been asked a few times in the last few months, due to the perception that personal support workers are predominantly female, and the job as a whole is perceived to be a “female position”.

From my perspective, in the workplace, there is a relatively high percentage of personal support workers, with the numbers I have noticed being as high as 25-30%.  Additionally, I have not heard any stories recently about males having a hard time getting hired as personal support workers.  Also, it is simply illegal for employers to discriminate in their hiring practices based on gender (although we know that this does occur).  The one piece of advice I would impart is that there are more candidates entering the field who are certified, so I would highly recommend that you complete an accredited course that has a good co-op component.  

How To Become A Personal Support Worker

By Cynthia Herron
The job scenario for personal support workers is seeing an upward trend. The number of personal support workers employed is expected to grow at a rate greater than average in the coming years. So if you're thinking about becoming a personal support worker, this is the right time to learn the skills required for the job.
Personal support workers generally find jobs in institutions or clinics and many find part-time jobs that require them to work in more than one organization.  
This article gives you information on how to become a personal support worker including the training and education, if any, required for your career as personal support worker.

Personal Support Worker is a Career on the Rise

The job scenario for the designation of personal support workers is on the rise, as not only are newer job openings expected in the field, but entry-level jobs would be open for substituting those who have either shifted to other occupations or have retired from the job. Since the requirement for personal support work is increasing, the workload for personal support work is increasing as well. That leads to a higher demand for personal support workers in order to help do the tasks necessary.

Personal support workers can learn the skills required to perform their duties through on-the-job training, but currently there are a large number of personal support workers being trained at technical institutes, junior colleges, trade schools, etc in various personal support worker programs.

·      For students interested in becoming a personal support worker, the courses they opt for at the High school level should comprise of subjects like health and biology and that of office practices. This is the basic level of education required for the job of a personal support worker.

·      For all those who want to add to their basic education, there are approximately 269 personal support worker programs for personal support workers that have been approved. These programs impart knowledge of theory as well as practical skills for

The educational background needed to help you to pursue a career as a personal support worker are as follows:personal support workers through classroom as well as practical instructions.

·      The above mentioned programs also include internships in hospitals, or senior’s residences and these are certificate programs that span over one year or less than one year.

·      Many community colleges and trade schools offer certification courses. These programs require a high school diploma or an equivalent as a pre-requisite.

·      How long does it take to get certified as a personal support worker? There are many private schools that offer vocational courses in the field of personal support work and span over a period of about 6 to 12 months.

You Can Learn the Skills of Personal Support Work on the Job

Budding personal support workers often learn the required skills on the job. In such cases, their employers or other experienced personal support workers help them learn about the elements of the job that they are required to know.

Even those who are fresh out of personal support workers programs or those having some prior knowledge in the field may be required to undergo the on-the-job training as the prerequisites of the job varies between the style of working of different employers.

It will be more judicious of you to to take up advanced studies in the field if you want to increase your chances of advancing in the job. So with this you can become a personal support worker  instructor, office manager, or can use your experience to get high skilled and high-paying jobs.

Labour Market Information For Personal Support Workers

By Cynthia Herron
As the Canadian economy emerges from the current recession, a number of industry sectors will see above average growth to 2015. Among these are occupations in the healthcare field. 　The demographics of the Canadian population will be a major factor in the Canadian economy, affecting both labour market demand and supply. Seventy percent of new jobs to 2015 will be as a result of attrition (retirements, deaths) of existing employees. At the same time, the aging population (and its disproportionate medical needs) will create even greater demand for jobs in occupations in the healthcare field (e.g., personal support workers). 　

Now, more women work outside the home and cannot give full-time care to family members who are elderly, ill or have a disability. As well, the Ontario government has an Aging at Home Strategy. This means that more people may get health care at home instead of at the hospital. This has resulted in substantially more job openings for Personal Support Workers. 　

As healthcare costs rise, that industry will continue to look at cost-cutting strategies. One of these is to "push down" duties currently performed by higher-cost employees (e.g., nurses) to lower-cost staff (e.g., personal support workers), creating more of these types of job opportunities. As a result, the outlook or job prospects for this field are rated as exceptionally good by HRSDC