Holland College is now offering post-secondary microcredentials, including a fully subsidized microcredential to prepare students to work as supportive care assistants in long-term care.

A relatively new offering in Canadian colleges, microcredentials are formal certifications that recognize the achievement of one or more specific skills, competencies, or learning outcomes, which are identified by industry sectors to meet specific employer needs. They may be additional, alternate, or complementary to a traditional formal qualification such as a certificate, diploma, degree, applied degree or post-graduate certificate and may be offered face-to-face, by distance or in a blended delivery format.

“Microcredentials are a new learning and training opportunity for students and industry,” said Natalie Mitton, Vice-President, Academic and Applied Research at Holland College. “Industry driven and endorsed, microcredentials are competency-based, ensuring that students have successfully demonstrated competency in the skills identified by industry, and which are included within the microcredential.  They focus on a limited number of workplace skills and as a result, are typically short in duration, ranging from 6 to 25 hours.” 

Mitton added that microcredentials are valuable on their own or, if applicable, can be combined (stacked) with other microcredentials toward the completion of a larger credential.  Upon completion of a microcredential, students receive a digital badge which can be shared on a resume, CV, an online profile, or a social media account.

Currently, the college offers seven microcredentials in its New Manager Training series as well as the new microcredential offering in the health-care field, Supportive Care Assistant.

In the Supportive Care Assistant microcredential, students complete six weeks of online training including learning modules such as professionalism, client and family-centered assistance, communication, supportive assistance, and infection control and safety.

Once the required training modules are completed, students begin their 280-hour work placement in a long-term, community care, or home care setting where they will assist certified personal care providers and the health-care team. Students have access to a dedicated learning manager throughout their training. When they complete the microcredential, students who wish to further their education are eligible to receive a $5,000 stipend towards tuition costs for a health-care related program such as Resident Care Worker. 

The Supportive Care Assistant microcredential has been developed to address the labour shortages in the long-term care sector. Offered free of charge to eligible students, this microcredential is funded by Employment and Social Development Canada and is part of Colleges and Institutes Canada’s Building Capacity in Long-term Care project.

To find out more about the Supportive Care Assistant microcredential and other microcredentials offered at Holland College, visit the Customized Training page, call 902-566-9653 or email atsmith@hollandcollege.com.