Shiloh College offers a certificate that prepares students to enter one of the fastest-growing segments of the Canadian health-care workforce: the Health Care Aide.
This course is designed to equip learners with both the compassionate mindset and the practical competencies needed to deliver up to 80 % of the direct care provided to older adults in long-term-care facilities, hospitals, community programs and private homes.

Program Purpose & Graduate Profile
By the end of the certificate, graduates are able to assist clients with all Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)—bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, feeding—and with Instrumental ADLs such as meal preparation, light housekeeping and safe mobility. They act as “the eyes and ears” of the nursing team, monitoring vital signs, recording observations and promptly reporting changes in condition​​
The curriculum also stresses emotional support, dignity preservation and culturally-sensitive communication, shaping HCAs who can build trust with diverse clients while collaborating smoothly with registered nurses, practical nurses and other professionals.

Key Learning Blocks
Theoretical Foundations
• Anatomy & physiology of aging
• Infection-prevention & safe body mechanics
• Chronic-disease management, palliative & mental-health care
• Nutrition, medication assistance & pain observation
• Ethics, role boundaries and Canadian health-care law

Skills Laboratories & Simulations
• Personal-care techniques (bed-bathing, perineal care, oral hygiene)
• Transferring & positioning with lifts/assistive devices
• Measuring temperature, pulse, respirations & blood pressure
• Documentation (paper & electronic) and incident reporting
• De-escalation, empathy and conflict-resolution drills

Clinical Practicum
Two supervised placements (home-care & long-term-care settings) where learners integrate classroom knowledge, practise delegated acts and receive real-time feedback from preceptors

Admission & Credentialing Requirements
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (or mature-student status)
Clear vulnerable-sector police check
Current CPR & Standard First Aid certificates ​
Up-to-date immunizations; Food-Handler certificate is recommended
Upon successful completion, students earn the Shiloh College HCA Certificate and may be eligible for provincial HCA/PSW registries, entry-level roles in home- and community-care agencies, retirement residences, hospitals and private duty care.

Tuitions: $2,000.00

Distinctives of the Shiloh College Approach
Faith-infused professionalism: While fully aligned with provincial competencies, Shiloh College foregrounds servant leadership and ethical caregiving grounded in Christian values.

Leadership preparation: Recognizing the sector’s shift toward team-based models, modules on delegation, time management and peer mentoring prepare HCAs for future supervisory roles.

Evidence-based practice: Students learn to apply critical-thinking frameworks and current best-practice guidelines so they can contribute to quality-improvement initiatives in any workplace.

In short, the Shiloh College HCA Certificate weaves rigorous clinical training with holistic, person-centred values, enabling graduates to meet Canada’s escalating demand for compassionate, well-skilled front-line caregivers and to pursue further health-care careers as opportunities arise.