The Ontario government will spend up to $564,308 to increase enrollment in Georgian College‘s nursing programs and add up to 62 new student spaces.
The funding is part of the province’s $35-million investment to increase enrollment in nursing programs at Ontario colleges and universities.
“Ontarians rely on the exceptional quality of care that health care professionals provide across the health-care system,” the province’s colleges and universities minister Jill Dunlop said in a statement.
“Colleges and universities are crucial partners in our goal to provide high-quality care for Ontarians across the province in all our communities. Increasing enrollment in nursing education programs is progress in ensuring that Ontario’s health-care system has the highly-qualified staff needed to provide world-class care for Ontarians and our loved ones.”
The new spaces for nursing programs across Ontario will be available for fall 2021 and winter 2022 cohorts. They will serve to support adding about 1,131 practical nurses and 873 registered nurses to the health-care system.
“This funding will create more opportunities to train students close to home and add more highly trained professionals to our health-care system,” Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey said in a statement.
“With this investment, we are helping to strengthen the system for years to come and providing more support to those students who choose to dedicate their lives to nursing.”
The government said COVID-19 has “exacerbated the gap” between Ontario’s current supply of nurses and its “future needs across the health-care system.” It said the new funding for nursing education will help meet the “rising demand” of frontline health-care workers.