Manitoba is hoping to address staffing shortages in the health-care sector with more than $5 million in funding, split between two programs.
The province announced Thursday that the Skills Development Program and the Indigenous Adult Health Internship Program are both intended to help recruit more workers while increasing Indigenous representation in the field.
“These two programs, the Skills Development Program and the Indigenous Adult Health Internship Program, will help provide the training and resources needed to address immediate and emerging workforce needs in a sector stretched thin from the pandemic,” said economic development minister Cliff Cullen.
“This is key to addressing the significant labour market needs of the health-care sector.”
The Skills Development Program provides counselling and funding to eligible Manitobans looking for post-secondary training in health-care programs including health-care aides, health unit clerks, pharmacy technicians, practical nurses and more.
The Indigenous internship program is a collaboration with Southern Health that has been in place since 2015, and provides pre-employment training programs, a paid work practicum and job-shadowing opportunities for Indigenous students in a number of high-demand health-care occupations.