Friday, September 18, 2026 Strengthening Healthcare Starts with Workers Training more healthcare workers matters, but so does investing in the people already providing care. Newsletters Ontario Healthcare By Aren Plante, Representative, Grimsby Member Centre Anyone working in long term care knows that staffing isn’t an abstract issue. When a home is short-staffed, the people who feel it first are the personal support workers (PSWs), registered practical nurses (RPNs), and registered nurses (RNs), and other frontline staff working hard to ensure residents receive the care they need. That makes two recent Ontario government announcements significant for CLAC members. On August 21, the province announced nearly $75 million over the next several years to train and develop workers for long term care. That followed an August 12 announcement of $10.9 million through the Skills Development Fund to help nearly 2,000 workers and jobseekers prepare for healthcare careers. CLAC welcomes these investments. Training more workers is a big part of what is needed to ensure Ontario meets its healthcare responsibilities. But it is equally important that the province retain and support the experienced people providing care today—and CLAC continues to advocate for the working conditions that will make that possible. More opportunities for PSWs and nurses A key part of the new funding creates opportunities for people already working in healthcare to advance their careers. The province is investing $22.5 million over three years in the Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing (BEGIN) program, helping PSWs train to become RPNs and RPNs to become RNs. The government expects the investment will add another 877 nurses to long term care. Another $18 million will help 6,000 people complete PSW training, with additional funding supporting Francophone and Indigenous healthcare training. The province is also providing up to $15.5 million in 2026–27 through the Supporting Professional Growth Fund for education and training within long term care homes. Together with the Skills Development Fund, these investments should help strengthen the pipeline of people entering and advancing within healthcare. That pipeline is badly needed. More beds require more people Ontario is aging and demand for long term care is growing, while the province continues to expand and redevelop its long term care system. But beds do not provide care. People do. New beds require PSWs, nurses, dietary staff, housekeepers, recreation staff, maintenance workers, and many others to provide safe, compassionate care and make a long term care home function as a home. That is why CLAC strongly supports Ontario’s commitment to an average of four hours of direct care per resident per day. It is an important goal for residents and workers alike. More direct-care time means residents receive more of the attention they need, and frontline workers have a better opportunity to provide care safely and compassionately. Maintaining four hours of care will not be possible if employers cannot recruit and retain enough staff. Training must work for existing staff, too. Expanding training also has consequences for the existing workforce Students and new employees often learn from experienced PSWs and nurses on the job. That mentoring is essential, but it takes time. A PSW training a student still has residents who need assistance. A nurse supporting a learner still has medications, assessments, documentation, and other responsibilities. When these responsibilities are simply added to an already demanding workload, experienced workers carry the additional pressure. CLAC has been raising workload and training concerns at bargaining tables across Ontario. Mentoring and training need to be recognized as part of the valuable work experienced employees perform, with adequate staffing, time, and resources to do it properly. The solution isn’t less training. It is properly supported training that works for residents, learners, and existing employees. Don’t forget home and community care Ontario’s workforce strategy also needs to extend beyond long term care. Home and community care is facing serious staffing challenges of its own. Homecare is facing a staffing crisis. Read CLAC’s feature, The Call to Care, for a closer look at the workforce challenges facing Ontario’s homecare sector. Workers earn substantially less than people doing comparable work elsewhere in long term care and hospitals, while travel time and the cost of using personal vehicles can add to the pressures of the job. Training more people won’t solve those problems by itself. Healthcare careers also need to be jobs people can afford—and want—to stay in. That means wages and benefits matter. Workload and scheduling matter. Travel compensation and workplace safety matter. Opportunities to advance matter. And respect for the dignity and invaluable contribution of healthcare workers matters. Investing in the workforce we need—and the workforce we have Ontario’s new investments are an important contribution to addressing the healthcare workforce challenge. Creating pathways for PSWs to become RPNs, RPNs to become RNs, and new workers to enter the sector can strengthen the entire system. But Ontario cannot train its way out of every workforce challenge. CLAC will continue working with government and employers to ensure healthcare workers’ concerns remain front of mind: from education and training to workplace safety, manageable workloads, fair compensation, and achieving the four hours of direct care residents and workers were promised. 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