Health Care Assistant Certificate

Admission Requirements: Domestic applicants only, per the College's program page. Academic base: B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent, or being 19 or older and out of secondary school for a year by the first day of classes. English - this program uses the provincial HCA entry standard, which is lower than most Okanagan College programs. Applicants who can evidence three years of full-time instruction in English (counted from Grade 8, at a recognised institution in an approved English-speaking country, ESL courses excluded) need one of: English 10 at 60 per cent or equivalent; ENGL 070 at 60 per cent or an equivalent college course; or Accuplacer Next Generation with Reading 230, Writing 230 and WritePlacer 4. Applicants without that background take one of these, from an authorised agency: CLBPT or CLBPT Remote within the last year at listening 7, speaking 7, reading 6, writing 6; CELPIP General or Online within two years at the same 7/7/6/6 profile; IELTS (Academic, General or Academic Online) within two years, 6.0 overall with at least 6.0 in speaking and listening and nothing below 5.5 in reading and writing; CAEL or CAEL Online within two years, 60 overall with no section under 50; TOEFL iBT (including Home Edition) within two years - for tests sat before 21 January 2026, 76 overall with nothing below 20 in speaking and listening and nothing below 18 in reading and writing, and for tests sat on or after that date, 4 overall with nothing below 4 in speaking and listening and nothing below 3.5 in reading and writing; or PTE Academic within two years, 50 overall with nothing below 50 in speaking and listening and nothing below 45 in reading and writing (PTE Core: speaking 68, listening 60, reading 51, writing 60). Other admission requirements: criminal record check clearance to work with vulnerable adults and children, through the Criminal Records Review Program; standard first aid; CPR level C or Basic Life Support; FoodSafe Level 1 or equivalent; and a negative tuberculin test from no more than six months before applying, with follow-up tests if needed. Before clinical practice: the Okanagan College immunisation record form, WHMIS, the full B.C. Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum including its eight-hour in-person class, the Health Care Assistant Practice in BC e-learning modules, the Recognizing and Responding to Adult Abuse course, and the SPECO checklist. Students without proof of immunisation may be barred from clinical practice. Worth knowing: a Grade 11 science or ABE science at the 70 or 80 level is recommended; students act as both caregiver and patient in simulated lab work; and a driver's licence and reliable vehicle are required for practicum travel, which students pay for themselves.