With cash incentives and jobs aplenty, Fanshawe College's PSW school is churning out grads

Menatalla Al-Dogdog, 25,knows her chances of landing a job in her chosen field are good.

"There's lots of opportunity," she said. "I'm not worried about getting a job after this."

She started at Fanshawe College's personal support worker program in January and is set to graduate in August. When she starts working, she'll be a hot commodity.

Retirement, long-term care homes, even hospitals are looking for people to help the ill,seniorsand, in some cases, the disabled to makesure clients are comfortable, safe and have theiremotional and physical needs met.

"Seeing the shortagewe have in the hospital made me rethink my career," she said, noting she originally wanted to be a registered nurse, but changed her mind when she found out how great a need there is for personal support workers in Ontario's health system.

"My heart is open for them. I know they need me."

50,000 PSWs wanted in Ontario by 2032

A recent report from the Canadian Press suggests the need is big.Last month, CPreported Ontario is projecting it will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032.

WATCH: 'There's so many opportunities'

'There's so many opportunities,' says PSW student at Fanshawe

2 months ago

Duration 0:52

Menatalla El-Dogdog, 25, said she thinks the prospects of landing a job right of school are good.

Working as a PSWcan be rewarding, but it's also a tough job. Like nurses, PSWs are at-risk of being assaulted on the job.They often must care for many patients at once and are responsible for some ofthe least glamourous parts of healthcare, including changing bed pans andgiving baths and they aren't always well-paid for their trouble.

A PSW can make as much as $51,000 or as little as $30,000, but there are more incentives now than ever to get more of them into scrubs.

Frustrated by a lack of skilled personal support workers, the Ontario government has adopted the idea of subsidizing tuition, placement and relocationcosts forstudents looking for an education in a field seen as important to the province's beleaguered healthcare system.

Health Force Ontario provides incentives for students looking to go into personal support work, including:

• A stipend of up to $5,440 during a clinic placement in a long-term care home and/or community care employer.
• Recent graduates can earn $10,000 from the province in exchange for a year long commitment to work in long-term care or with a community care employer.
• Another $10,000 for relocation costs if the graduates are committing to work in a rural, remote or nothern area for at least 12 months.

"It's very desperate out there," Sabine Jewell, a registered nurse who has been working as an instructor at Fanshawe College for 11 years, said of the situation for employers.

'Without PSWs, I don't think we can run anything'

The students complete a clinical rotation in long-term care, followed by a four-week community placement at retirement homes, home care and hospices. Most students are offered jobs before they've completed both, Jewell said.

Fanshawe College said it graduated 165 students in the winter term. In 2021, the school said it had plans to put more than 8,000 students through the program on all of its campuses.

WATCH: 'The prospects are amazing'

'The prospects are amazing'

2 months ago

Duration 0:35

Registered nurse and Fanshawe College instructor Sabine Jewell explains the job prospects of recent graduates of the school's personal support worker program.

Jewell said personal support workers are the glue that holds the healthcare system together and are responsible for everything from helping a patient get a sip of water, to going to the bathroom, and even just listening to what they have to say.

"PSWs are the eyes and ears of the nurse," she said. "Without PSWs, I don't think we can run anything."

Jewell said the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated just how importantPSWs are, as supportingthe nation's seniors needing carefell directly on their shoulders when strict lockdown conditions were imposed on retirement and long-term care homes.

"I think the public is behind the PSWs.I think they deserve so much more."