How do I become a health care assistant?
To be eligible to work as a health care assistant in any publicly funded health care setting in BC, you must be registered with the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry. In order to qualify to register, you must complete a six- to nine-month Health Care Assistant program offered by colleges in BC, or show proof of equivalent training and experience.
Currently, private health care providers may hire health care assistants who are not registered, but this may change at any time. Although some private health care employers will accept applicants with less than Grade 12 education, most prefer candidates who have completed a high school diploma and who have completed a Health Care Assistant program.
Most employers also require a criminal record check, and tuberculosis screening.
If you are an internationally trained health care professional wishing to register with the BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry you will also need to:
- have your training and education evaluated by the International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) or equivalent agency
- provide evidence of English language proficiency to prove you can listen, speak, read and write in English
- complete a competency assessment by the Nursing Community Assessment Service
BC Health Career Access Program, Government of BC
This BC government program provides a path for applicants with no health care experience to get hired and receive paid health care assistant training. Through the Health Career Access Program, the Province pays for your post-secondary education. New hires in the program start in a health care support worker position and receive paid training that leads to full qualification as a health care assistant.