Ottawa is giving Aurora College $3.2 million over five years to help fund the school's personal support worker certificate program.

A personal support worker (PSW) is responsible for looking after Elders and seniors, whether it's at their home or elsewhere. The Feb. 4 funding announcement was made at Aurora College in Yellowknife, with Health and Social Services Minister Lesa Semmler and NWT MP Michael McLeod in attendance. 

McLeod, who made the announcement on behalf of federal Health Minister Mark Holland, spoke to a room full of Aurora College students. He said each of them is essential to the country's healthcare system.

"You provide very vital care to people such as seniors and individuals with disabilities," he said. "I just turned 65 years old this year so you might be looking after me pretty soon."

Currently, there are 27 available seats for the school's in-person program, according to Jodi Brennan, chair of the school of health and human services at Aurora College. She added she's hoping for about 20 students per year to enrol in the distance, online program for the next four years. 

With the funding also comes a new, third option, Brennan added.

"We're hoping to have a part-time program, face-to-face in the other campuses. So, in Inuvik and Fort Smith, there's an opportunity there for people to do some face-to-face and then carry on with distance if they want, or part-time face-to-face. So that's the new thing we want to try with this funding."

Campuses that offer full-time training for PSW certificates are in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Fort Smith, Brennan noted. 

The need for PSWs is high, according to Semmler, as there's no shortage of seniors who want to remain in their communities.

"And they can do that with the support of personal support workers," the Health minister said.

She added that the federal funding will help accomplish two things: hiring educators who can provide training and onboarding to new PSWs and improving the school's education programs, all in hopes in raising the total number of PSWs in the territory.

There's also a particular need for Indigenous PSWs, Semmler said.

"Especially in our smallest communities, those residents in those Indigenous communities want Indigenous people that understand them, that understand their culture, understand their language, to take care of them," she said.