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ਪੰਜਾਬੀHealth Care Aide Certificate Program
Start working as a Health Care Aide in a hospital, supportive care facility, or assisted living housing in under a year!
10 Months
Become a competent and confident health care aide in 10 months, with flexibility to work while you study.
$21 – $27
Appr. hourly wage for health care aides in Alberta. Join this rewarding field with an HCA certification.
3
Clinical Placements. Progressive placements offer real-life experience and potential job opportunities once HCA certified.
Why Our Health Care Aide (HCA) Program?
Ready for a career where you can truly make a difference in someone’s life? Then the Health Care Aide certificate program may be right for you! Our experienced and knowledgeable staff have worked as professionals in the field and can provide hands-on training so you can confidently enter into the health care aide field.
Right now there is a huge demand for health care aides in Alberta, due to the growth in an aging population and the need for health care front line workers. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic to Alberta increased the demand for workers. In response, the Government of Alberta has increased pay for certified health care aides who are working in contracted home care agencies in an effort to retain current staff and attract new workers to Alberta’s home care system. In addition, new tuition bursaries offering up to $9,000 are available for Health Care Aide students who started their HCA program after July 1, 2022 and are working in continuing care centres. Learn more about these bursaries.
Health Care Aides can work in hospitals, supportive care facilities, and assisted living housing facilities. Individuals with HCA certification provide important assistance to a wide variety of patients including the elderly and individuals with disabilities who require support and care.
MaKami College’s Health Care Aide certificate program offers the most up-to-date health care aide courses from the Government of Alberta in a blended format. This allows students to learn theory for their health care aide certificate online and complete practical labs and clinical placements in person. Get a job as a health care aide in Alberta immediately and earn as much as $27 an hour!
It’s a really good experience and I would recommend it to each one of my friends or whoever asks me. I would do it twice if I had the opportunity.
I’m feeling so blessed, HCA is fantastic. When somebody is so sick and you help, and the next day the person says to you, ‘thank you’ or they take your hands to say, ‘thank you’ – it’s awesome. I feel so blessed because I helped, I cared. It’s my passion, it’s my love, it’s everything for me. And MaKami has a fantastic team. I’m now a successful HCA because my teacher’s were strong and they met all of my needs. I say all the time, ‘thank you, thank you, MaKami! Everybody come to MaKami.’ It’s awesome.
About the Health Care Aide Certificate Program
Our Health Care Aide certificate program follows the 2019 Government of Alberta Provincial Curriculum and is regulated by Alberta Health. The program offers a 40-week (735 hour) curriculum in either Calgary or Edmonton, Alberta in a blended format with theory offered online and practical labs and clinical placements completed in-person. Your training includes a clinical health care aide job practicum so you can gain the real-life experience needed to succeed after graduation. Our experienced instructors have worked as health professionals in the field, such as licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RN). They provide cutting-edge health care aide courses so you can confidently work in any setting.
MaKami College’s Health Care Aide certificate program offers an iPad-based curriculum with realistic, interactive materials to help you fully understand how the body works. With the latest iPad you’ll have the ability to translate documents into multiple languages, so even if English is not your first language you still have the potential to be successful!
The purpose of the HCA curriculum is to standardize the education and training of health care aides in Alberta. It is designed to prepare learners for a certification as unregulated care providers to work in a variety of career settings. The curriculum ensures that students are equipped with the required knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective care. The first provincial HCA curriculum came into effect in 2005 and was refreshed in 2010 with reviews occurring in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
The HCA Provincial Curriculum (2019) was updated to align with the HCA Competency Profile (2018). The HCA Provincial Curriculum (2019) was prepared by a team of individuals with expertise in nursing, education, project management, copyright regulations, document editing, formatting, and curriculum design.
When you finish the Health Care Aide certificate program you will be eligible to take the Provincial exam to become a health care aide in Alberta.
Tuition Bursaries Available for HCA Students – up to $9,000!
The Alberta government offers two types of bursaries for Health Care Aide (HCA) students who started their HCA program after July 1, 2022 and are working or will be working in a continuing care centre. Learn more about these bursaries.
Receive Additional Certifications
In addition to a variety of transferrable skills and clinical placements you’ll also earn a certification in First Aid during this program.
Fit Testing for N95 Respiratory Masks
With the continued rapid spread of the Covid-19, MaKami College’s clinical placement partners are creating new policies to ensure the safety of their staff and students while they care for the most vulnerable in our communities. One of the new policies that is becoming more common is the use of N95 masks while caring for clients. In response, MaKami is now arranging N95 Respiratory Masks Fit Testing prior to students going out on clinical placements. Learn more about MaKami’s N95 mask fitting process.
Eligibility and Admissions
The following requirements must be met to be eligible for entry into a licensed health care aide program, as outlined by Alberta Health Services (AHS).
Academic English Language Arts (ELA)
- Grade 11, 20-2 level course (see MaKami course), with a minimum score of 60% achieved or Canadian jurisdiction equivalent; or
- English 20-1 with a minimum of 60% achieved or Canadian jurisdiction equivalent; or
- English 30-1 or 30-2 with a minimum of 55% or Canadian jurisdiction equivalent; or
- Deemed equivalent by completion of ACCUPLACER (assessment placement test)
Notes:
Students who have not completed the ELA 20-2 can take the course at MaKami College if they meet the admission requirements. Upon completion of the course with a grade of 60%+, they will be able to apply for the Health Care Aide program
Alternatively, some students may also complete the ACCUPLACER assessment test. This can include students out of province, out of country or mature students that have been out of school for a significant length of time.
English Language Proficiency (ELP)
Candidates where English is a Second Language (ESL) must meet the English Language Proficiency requirement in addition to the Academic English requirement. Equivalencies are as follows:
- By completing high school in Canada. Studies must have been in English at an approved Canadian high school (grades 9, 10, 11, 12) with at least three consecutive years of full-time academic study; OR
- By completing a recognized post-secondary degree or diploma program in Canada. The program must have involved at least two full years of full-time, consecutive academic study in English.
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic: 6 (no section score below 5.5)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet Based Testing (TOEFL iBT): 71
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) General: 7 (with no section score below 6) and
- Required Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (7 in each strand, not an average of 7)
- Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) of a minimum of 7 in each of the 4 language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and not an average of 7
- Duolingo: minimum score of 95
Notes
- Test Currency: Results must have been obtained within two years of the start date of the program.
- Test Validity: IELTS (Academic) and TOEFL results are valid for two years from the day of testing. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program will not be accepted.
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
MaKami College gives professionals in the health care aide industry the opportunity to get certification through our HCA certificate program. We work with health care professionals to assess their knowledge and skills and complement them with the ones offered in our program to ensure success at MaKami as well as in their career.
All applicants looking to use the PLAR methods will be provided with a PLAR Student Guide that explains PLAR and the Alberta HCA PLAR process. Please contact the HCA Department for a copy of the PLAR Student Guide, and more information on the PLAR policies as well the associated application and processing fees.
Digital Literacy
Candidates must possess knowledge of computer/technology tools to be successful in the program.
Candidates must:
- Be able to communicate, research and understand information
- Know how to use computer to surf web, email
- Be able to critically evaluate and understand how technology can affect one’s behavior
- Be able to create, produce content and effectively communicate using email, media, internet
Additional Helpful Program Information
Where is the Health Care Aide Program Offered?
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