This is the sixth in our series of Personal Support Worker Articles;

PSW Article #6: Personal Support Worker Career (PSW): Credit Crisis and Recession Proof?

For the rest of our Articles:

PSW.ca Article Archive

Personal Support Worker Career (PSW): Credit Crisis and Recession Proof?

Recently the Provincial Government of Ontario announced that they will increase spending towards personal support workers. In total the budget increase will come to a total of over $100 million ($107 to be exact). All of this funding will be used to hire an additional 2500 personal support workers by the year 2011.

With the current financial hardships that are found within the real estate, stock market and the broad economy as a whole, the personal support industry is one of the few career choices that appears to be recession proof. While I do emphasize the word “appears”, as nothing is certain in this world, it really does make sense if we stop and take the time to think about it.

Firstly the government has already publicly committed to increase spending in the hiring of additional employees throughout the province. Secondly, the nature of the job can be seen as recession proof. Recession or not, individuals throughout the province require care. This is a fact. Typically these patients can be individuals with disabilities or senior citizens that have a hard time taking full care of themselves. With the oncoming baby boomer retirement in full effect there should be more citizens of Ontario requiring care than ever before.

Personal support worker courses are only one year in duration, with accelerated courses taking as a little as eight months to complete. This includes in class and on field assignment. Even with the short course duration and the increased spending by the government, support facilities are typically finding themselves with shortages of available labor.

With increased government spending, a proffesion that relies little upon economic cycles and a shortage of qualified labor, a personal support worker in the province of Ontario can have a relative rarity in todays economy, namely job security.