Health Care Assistants (HCAs) are personal care providers that support older adults with their daily living activities, such as grooming, dressing, nutrition, mobility, and other daily personal care tasks. HCAs provide the majority of direct personal care to older adults living in care communities, including long-term care, assisted living and home health.
These positions are known by many job titles in BC and Canada including Residential Care Aides, Community Health Workers, Personal Support Workers, Long-Term Care Aides, Continuing Care Assistants and more.
- Education: Becoming a Health Care Assistant requires a diploma or certification, usually taking between 6 to 9 months to complete.
- English: A minimum of Grade 10 English or Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or higher
- Pay: $$, Most Health Care Assistants earn between $23 – $26 per hour
- Job Opportunities: ★★★★★
BC’s Labour Market Outlook projects over 18,000 job openings for Health Care Assistants over the next 10 years.