Master the skills to innovate in food and pharma research.
Certificates
6 months
October 6, 2025
Online and Placement
Financial aid is available to those who qualify. Ask AAPS for more details.
Certificates
October 6, 2025
6 months
Online and Placement
Details
Financial aid is available to those who qualify. Ask AAPS for more details.
Personal Support Workers (PSWs) are the backbone of compassionate care, providing essential support to individuals in various healthcare and community settings. As the demand for PSWs continues to grow, this program is designed to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience needed to thrive in this fulfilling career.
Our PSW program offers a comprehensive education that combines online learning with hands-on training in a hybrid format. You’ll learn the fundamentals of personal care, safety, communication, and health management, all while gaining real-world experience through extensive placement opportunities.
Program Length: 700 hours, including:
Graduates who meet all requirements will earn a PSW Certificate, preparing them to meet the needs of clients in diverse healthcare environments.
Key Program Features
Why Choose a Career as a PSW?
PSWs provide essential support to individuals, assisting with daily living tasks, mobility, personal hygiene, and more. This career path offers:
Career Outcomes
Graduates of our PSW program are prepared for roles such as:
The introductory module provides an overview of the scope of responsibilities of PSWs in a variety of settings. Students will learn about client-centred versus client-directed care; and emphasizing the individuality of the client and his/her relationship with family, friends, and others. Key topics include work relationships, stress and time management, interpersonal skills, and communications, including conflict resolution and problem solving, and applicable legislation.
The second module covers safety as it relates to both the client and the worker. One of the fundamental activities of the PSW is that of assisting the client with routine activities of living. Students will learn about risks of unsafe equipment or settings and appropriate actions to take when unsafe situations are identified. Topics include infection control methods, body mechanics, and transferring and lifting techniques using equipment to increase safety and reduce client anxiety.
This module will introduce the student to the basics of anatomy and physiology. Students will gain an understanding of human body systems in order to apply that knowledge in their daily work as a Personal Support Worker. These body systems are: the musculoskeletal, digestive, urinary, integumentary, reproductive, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, and endocrine. Common disorders and age-related changes for each body system will also be covered.
PSW’s assist clients with all activities or routines of daily living. Students will learn how to care for the ill, disabled, injured and/or confused client. Frailness, dignity and levels of dependence will be considered. Personal hygiene includes oral care, perineal care, bathing, grooming, dressing, bed making, shaving, hair care, and skin care. It includes mobility considerations and involves personal safety, self-esteem and dignity. The foundation of this module is humanistic health care.
This module introduces students to the concepts of violence and abuse, including its possible signs, and the appropriate actions and legal requirements if abuse is suspected. Personal beliefs and attitudes about family violence and abuse are examined, as is the concept of worker abuse of the client and, abuse of the worker. PSW will learn to recognize both indicators and causes, and the requirements of legislation, employer policy, and provisions of the service contract or support plan.
Students will learn to assist the client with their nutritional needs, household activities, and household management according to client preferences, comfort and safety within employer guidelines as required. Nutritional needs include planning balanced menus, preparing shopping lists and shopping, safe handling of food, and storage and specific cooking techniques. The special dietary needs of certain clients and their cultural and religious preferences will all be addressed.
This module identifies the support provided through the care plan or service contract to the client to relearn or regain routine abilities. They will understand its significance, and the rights of the client as a receiver of support and the purpose, methods, and persons involved in its creation. Student will also be introduced to working in the community health care environment, providing support to patients and families in communities, conducted in accordance with employer guidelines.
Students learn to understand family characteristics in terms of structure, functions, roles, lifestyles and relationships. The influence of cultural values, practices, religious beliefs as well as the effects of illness, stress, and disability on family relationships will be emphasized as central to the PSW’s ability to provide effective support. This module also explores the stages of growth and development throughout the life cycle and the role of the PSW in providing respite to families.
In this module students learn about hospice, palliative and end-of-life care, the integration of a palliative approach to care, ways of being, communication and practical strategies to provide psychosocial support and physical comfort care for both the person and their family. This module addresses provincial palliative care competencies (2018-2020) including competencies for caring for First Nation, Inuit, Metis and urban Indigenous peoples.
Within the PSW scope of practice, students learn about medication administration versus assistance. They gain basic knowledge of the drugs used in the treatment of common diseases and disorders including use, classification, effects, and routes of administration. They identify purposes, required instruction, and cautions; and the importance of observation for both desired and undesired outcomes, as well as the procedures to be followed in the event of a concern or problem with medications.
This module introduces students to common psychiatric conditions such as affective disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, cognitive impairment, and brain injury. The possibility of multiple conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression will be discussed along with the role of the family caregiver and the importance of observation, documentation, and reporting in order to recognize changes in behaviour that can be related to psychiatric conditions or an increased risk of suicide.
Students are introduced to ongoing conditions and basic concepts of assistance, as well as the general effects on the person of common disabilities, conditions and diseases. Students will gain skill in the necessary techniques while focusing on the importance of providing support safely, effectively and comfortably. Concepts of maintenance, rehabilitation and restoration are discussed, as is the importance of the support team in providing assistance and training of these additional skills.
Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) is a multi-disciplinary education program designed for everyone who interacts with older adults in the workplace. Participants are guided to fully understand responsive behaviours in order to be able to respond effectively and appropriately in a workplace setting.
Clinical placement provides students with an opportunity to practice their new skills in a work setting. Students gain experience in a wider range of PSW skills, become more self-confidant, and may receive offers of employment from the placement site. They spend time working in a facility setting for 100 hours under the supervision of their instructor and under a preceptor provided by the host site for 100 hours. The instructor will be available by phone and email during the placement.
Clinical placement provides students with an opportunity to practice their new skills in a work setting. While on placement, students gain experience in a wider range of PSW skills, become more self-confidant, and may receive offers of employment from the placement site. In this module the students will spend time working in a community setting under the supervision of a preceptor provided by the host site. The instructor will be available by phone and email at all times.
Graduates of the Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Quality Control Post-Graduate Diploma Program may work for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics and cannabis companies as well as testing laboratories. Employment of Quality Control Analyst and Quality Assurance Associates are in demand as each production batch must be tested prior to release. Professionals in the Quality field are in consistent demand in Canada and around the world.
AAPS Graduates from the Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance & Quality Control Post-Graduate Diploma Program have pursued careers as a:
Average Wage/HR**
high Wage/HR**
Graduates of the Personal Support Worker (PSW) program will receive a Certificate for the NACC Personal Support Worker DE 2022, issued by the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC). This certificate is widely recognized within the healthcare field and demonstrates a high standard of training and competency.
This program is approved as a vocational program under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, ensuring that graduates meet the regulatory and professional standards expected by employers across the industry.
To register for in-class, contact us via telephone at 416-502-2277 or by email at info@aaps.ca
The instructors are industry-experienced in a supportive learning environment. Field-related internships give students real-world experience. Students also receive ongoing job search assistance and career services from AAPS.
Sedigheh Fadaye Vatan
Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Graduate
Taking the AAPS Cannabis Management, Quality & Laboratory course was the one of the best decisions for my career. They are all extremely knowledgeable in their field, with real life experiences to share.
Orenda Von Gernet
Cannabis – Management, Quality and Laboratory Graduate
I enrolled in the QA/QC program and midway through the program I successfully landed a 6-month internship at Teva Pharmaceuticals. Upon completing my program part-time, I got a full-time position with PerkinElmer.
Lukman Nahle
Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Quality Control Graduate
I am very happy that I chose AAPS as my next academic endeavor after graduating University. The course was very useful in teaching me the things that I will need to know when entering the Cannabis industry.
Zachary Petkov
Cannabis – Management, Quality and Laboratory Graduate
Coming to AAPS to pursue my PG Diploma in CRDSP has been one of the best career decisions. I’ve received my offer letter to join as Project Management Associate at Axiom real-time metrics solutions, On.
Remya Pushparajan Subha
Clinical Research Graduate
The food safety and quality program at AAPS provided me with the knowledge required for the Canadian food industry. As a newcomer to Canada, I really appreciated the welcoming vibe the college offered.
Dania Hariri
Food, Technology, Safety and Quality Graduate
I was newcomer in Canada from Nepal. I enrolled in PG Diploma in Pharmaceutical QC/QA/RA course which i think was the best. After 3 weeks of hard work into co-op days, I was offered a full-time job.
Yushma Shakya
Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Quality Control Graduate
I am excited to share my employment news. I am now working as Quality Assurance Manager and I couldn’t have done it without your help and encouragement. I want to specifically thank all the AAPS instructors.
Abolfazl Darashti
Food, Technology, Safety and Quality Graduate
Thank you to everyone at AAPS for helping me in my postgraduate training. I am now really excited to be working at the McKesson Corporation (Fortune Top 500 Company) as a Health Services Case Manager.
Amjad Atrash
Clinical Research Graduate
I am happy to share that I have received a job as a Clinical Research Recruiter at BioPharma Services Inc. It was a hard and persistent job but I couldn’t have done it without the AAPS support.
Saeeda Hasan
Clinical Research Graduate
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