Cert in Personal Support Worker at Georgian College in Barrie, Canada is a certificate in Medicine & Health programme. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 7,619 per semester (CAD 1,387 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Medicine & Health
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 1,387 / semester
International tuition: CAD 7,619 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Personal Support Worker (PSW) program is a two semester Ontario College Certificate that provides you with the knowledge and practical skills to offer safe, supportive care to clients in settings such as private homes, long term care and acute care facilities. As a member of an interprofessional health care team, PSWs assist with daily living and the provision of person-centred care to individuals with a range of health conditions and/or individuals experiencing responsive behaviours. Through theory and hands-on lab classes, you learn how to provide a comfortable, safe environment for clients while assisting with personal care and home management. Two clinical placements in long term care and other healthcare settings, provide training in the delivery and documentation of care, and expand your ability to provide holistic, compassionate care throughout the lifespan to clients and their families.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: One-year Ontario College Certificate. Entry needs an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature student status, plus Grade 12 English (C or U). Mature applicants aged 19 or over, applicants who did not attend secondary school and home-schooled applicants can qualify through equivalent courses, upgrading, a GED or equivalency testing.
An up-to-date immunisation record compliant with the Public Hospitals Act must be submitted at registration so clinical placements can be arranged. To be eligible for any practicum a student needs a completed Clinical Preparedness Permit carrying Level HCP CPR and Standard First Aid current within the year at admission, with CPR renewed annually while studying; a current police check including a vulnerable sector screen; and a record of a mask fit test, done at the college in semester one and renewed every two years. Anyone charged or convicted criminally without a pardon is barred from a clinical or work placement. Placements are arranged across regional agencies, students provide their own transport, and shifts mirror those of working personal support workers — a day shift can start at 06:00 and an evening shift can end at 23:00.
Georgian publishes one set of academic prerequisites here for both applicant groups: domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca, while international applicants apply through Georgian's own applicant portal, where overseas qualifications are assessed against these Ontario courses. English, for any applicant whose first language is not English or who comes from a country where English is not an official language: Georgian's college-level band — IELTS Academic 6.0, TOEFL iBT 79, TOEFL paper 550, PTE Academic 58, Duolingo 110, CAEL 60, Cambridge C1 Advanced 170 or TOEIC public test 800 — with results older than two years refused.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes Georgian lists on this program's own page (checked 6 September 2026): Fall 2026 at Barrie, Orangeville, Owen Sound; Winter 2027 at Barrie; Summer 2027 at Barrie, Owen Sound; Fall 2027 at Barrie, Orangeville, Owen Sound, Schlegel – Innis Landing; Winter 2028 at Barrie, Schlegel – Innis Landing; Summer 2028 at Barrie, Owen Sound. Campus names are the ones Georgian gives for each start; not every campus runs every intake. On Georgian's academic calendar for standard 14-week programs, the fall term opens with orientation on 8 September 2026 and classes on 9 September 2026; the winter term opens with orientation on 11 January 2027 and classes on 12 January 2027; the summer term and its classes both begin on 10 May 2027; the fall term opens with orientation on 7 September 2027 and classes on 8 September 2027. Individual programs vary from that pattern. Georgian has not yet published term dates for Summer 2028 or Winter 2028; its calendar currently runs only to Fall 2027.
Application Deadline:Georgian publishes no deadline unique to this program, and it is not on the college's highly competitive list for Fall 2026 entry. The dates below are the college-wide ones.
DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca. 1 February is the equal consideration date: an application received on or before it is weighed alongside every other application received by then, while later ones are handled in the order they arrive for as long as seats last. Georgian's own worked example ties each 1 February to the fall, winter and summer that follow, so the date now in force is 1 February 2027 for entry in Fall 2027, Winter 2028 or Summer 2028. Letters of acceptance for most programs start going out on 1 November (1 November 2026 in the current cycle) and keep going until a program fills; an offer is confirmed back through ontariocolleges.ca by the deadline printed on it, normally 1 May (1 May 2027 this cycle), and only one offer may be held at a time. Late applicants can still receive an offer as far as the fifth day of the term. For a program in this category Georgian normally keeps accepting applicants after 1 February — check ontariocolleges.ca for current availability.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS have no fixed cut-off. They apply directly to Georgian through its own applicant portal, which is also where a program's availability to international students is shown, and applications are taken year-round subject to that availability — Georgian warns that a program open when you apply can be closed by the time your file is assessed, and urges applying early enough to leave time for a study permit. A CAD 100 application fee applies, and a seat is only held once the pre-admission invoice is accepted and the non-refundable CAD 2,500 deposit is paid.
