A partnership between the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CÉPEO) French public-school board and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) means 21 adult students will be working as personal support workers (PSW) at the Prescott and Russell Residence in Hawkesbury.
On Thursday, February 7, the partnership was announced by the UCPR and the CÉPEO. It allows 21 students of the Le Carrefour adult school to train as PSW’s on the job at the Residence.
“We are very pleased to arrange this partnership between the UCPR and CÉPEO,” UCPR Warden Pierre Leroux said.
He noted that 20 per cent of the population of Prescott and Russell counties is aged 60 and greater, which highlights the current and future demand for healthcare staff. Leroux said the ability to train more people to work in these roles will have long-term benefits for healthcare in the region.
CÉPEO Trustee for Prescott County Gilles Fournier called the partnership a significant step in engagement between the school board and other agencies.
CÉPEO Director of Education Christian-Charle Bouchard said the partnership allows students to gain work experience in an excellent environment beyond the traditional classroom.
The Prescott and Russell Residence is operated by the UCPR under its responsibility to provide a local, public, long-term care facility. Administrator Éric Larocque said the program offers practical training for students while augmenting the service to residents. He said the training of more PSW’s will also ensure there are enough personnel to staff the new Prescott and Russell Residence which is to be completed later this year.
“I thank the CÉPEO for creating this great program,” Larocque said.
The 21 students were instantly hired to work at the Residence while they complete their training. Larocque said $50,000 leftover from the 2023 UCPR budget was used to help cover the wages of the students after they were hired. No funds for the UCPR/CÉPEO partnership are from the 2024 UCPR budget. The CÉPEO is providing $144,000 for the partnership. That amount is the CÉPEO’s allocation from more than $100 million the Ontario government announced on January 31 to train 32,000 new PSW’s across the province during the next two years.
Becoming a PSW through the UCPR/CÉPEO program is a second career for Robert Berthiaume of Hawkesbury. He sold his shares in his family’s funeral business in 2015 but still wanted to work in an environment where he is caring for people. So, he enrolled in the program to become a PSW.
“I still need to give dignity and respect to people, and that’s all they need,” Berthiaume said.
Yvette Larocque, no relation to Éric Larocque, has been hired by the UCPR to work as the instructor for the students. Éric Larocque is hopeful the program will continue and can train two groups of new PSW’s per year.
