The Supportive Care Assistant (SCA) micro-certificate program is now available for CICan members to download, customize, and offer to students.
Developed as part of the Building Capacity in Long-term Care project and funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiative Program, this program addresses the critical shortage of workers in long-term care by providing flexible, online training for individuals interested in entering the healthcare field.
You can use the curriculum as is or customize it to meet your institution’s needs and respond to local workforce demands. The program was designed in collaboration with 14 colleges and institutes, who shared expertise and resources to define the competencies, admission requirements, and curriculum.
Program Structure
The SCA program includes five core online modules that equip learners with essential skills for supportive care roles. If a work placement is offered, a sixth module helps prepare learners for their placement and guides them through the experience.
Key topics include:
- Professionalism
- Client and Family-Centered Assistance
- Communication
- Supportive Assistance
- Infection Control and Safety
The program is designed to be completed in six weeks, with each module taking approximately 20 hours. It can be delivered online or in person, either asynchronously or in a cohort-based model. Institutions can also add specific modules based on provincial or employer needs, such as First Aid/CPR, WHMIS, FOODSAFE, and Mental Health First Aid, among others.
For detailed learning objectives and competencies, download the full course overview. If your students are participating in a work placement, you can view the list of work activities they are allowed to perform and those that will require additional training.
How Can Your Institution Use This Program?
- As an intro course for learners considering a career in healthcare.
- As an entry-level credential that prepares learners to advance into formal personal care provider programs like PSW, HCA, or CCA, providing foundational knowledge and insights to better understand what to expect in these roles.
- As educational content to integrate into other courses within your healthcare programs, allowing you to build on existing material.
Get Started Today
The Supportive Care Assistant course content was designed on D2L/Brightspace, and while this platform is recommended for the best user experience, the content can also be imported into other Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard or Moodle, though reformatting will be required for proper integration. Feel free to rename the program to align with your offerings.
Available under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED.
Download the Program
Students from the SCA program will be coming into the Health Care Assistant program with a realistic view of the expectations, challenges, and understand the rewards of working in long-term care, having completed a work experience placement. We appreciate how the SCA program is helping to build a pathway to further education in healthcare.