New innovative program addresses significant shortage of educational staff
The Catholic school board in Simcoe Muskoka is the first in the province to offer an innovative program to address the overwhelming shortage of educational assistants (EA).
The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB), in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, offers the Educational Assistant Apprenticeship program, allowing EA supply staff to work in schools while becoming fully qualified EAs.
Sarah Hoggarth is one of roughly 30 applicants through the school board.
"For 15 years, I've wanted to go to school, but I just haven't been able to afford school and not working," she says. "I could apply for a full-time job or long-term occasional spots, and without this program, I just wouldn't have been able to do that."
"Educational assistant is a huge supportive role for our highest needs students in the school, and there has been a shortage over COVID, and we have a hard time some days filling positions," says Brad Shoreman, Adult Continuing and Community Education SMCDSB principal.
The apprenticeship program offers on-the-job training and in-class technical instruction.
Those interested in applying can do so at any time. The program can take two to three years to complete to become an EA anywhere in Ontario.
Shoreman adds that other school boards are working to implement the same program with hopes of recruiting more staff to fill the need.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Galen Weston pushes back on 'misguided criticism' of Loblaw as boycott begins
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston, as well as the company's new chief executive, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a boycott against the company gains steam online.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.