Helping Canadians get back to work.

Discovery Community College

4640 Headquarters Road, Courtenay BC

Possible funding to those who qualify*

B.C. Access Grant
Loans
Grants
Bursaries
Scholarships

Healthcare / Wellness / Pharma

Programs

Programs offered at each campus may vary, so be sure to check other campus offerings for the course you are most interested in.

Healthcare, Wellness, Pharma Programs

Health Care Assistant
Professional Health Care Assistant Career Training in as Little as 38 Weeks
Health Care Assistants (HCA), sometimes called Health Care Aides, provide important personal assistance and support services for a wide variety of medical clients including elderly patrons, injured or disabled persons and chronically ill people who require short term assistance or ongoing support. Your compassion, patience, and interest in helping others, paired with the hands-on training from Discovery Community College, will prepare you for a rewarding career as a Health Care Assistant in less than 10 months. This program is offered in: Campbell River, Courtenay, Parksville, Nanaimo, Maple Ridge and Surrey This program has been reviewed and approved by the registrar of the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training. The best way to see if Discovery Community College is the right fit for you is to see it for yourself. You can tour our facilities, get all your questions answered, and meet with both students and instructors.
Practical “On-the-Job” Training
As a student in the Discovery Community College Health Care Assistant Diploma program, you’ll learn in a real-world environment by training on-site at residential care facilities. The philosophy of this program is based on a humanistic, experiential approach and features gradual immersion and hands-on training. Paired with small class sizes, this learn-by-doing process ensures that our graduates are competent and confident with their knowledge base and clinical skills. Healthcare is a “hands-on” profession, and at Discovery we strongly believe that is how it should be taught. Successful graduates of this program enter the professional world with confidence after gaining so much practical, on-the-job-experience during their training.
Health Care Assistants in High Demand in B.C. & Throughout Canada
The growing and aging population in B.C. and throughout Canada is creating an increased demand for training Healthcare professionals. There is an especially high demand for skilled Health Care Assistants. The Government of Canada reports that employment growth in this field “will be among the strongest of all occupations.” (Working in Canada Report: Nurse Aides, Orderlies and Patient Service Associates NOC 3413-C) In fact, over the next 7 years, it’s projected that there will be more job openings in the field of Health Care Assistants than there will be trained professionals to fill those jobs. That makes now an exciting time for new professionals receiving their training and entering this booming field.

Courtenay Campus

Mission Statement

Discovery Community College is committed to hands-on training and to graduating work ready students who are sought after by employers.

Objectives

To acknowledge and encourage the individual learning needs of each student
To offer quality, hands-on education, utilizing the latest technology
To understand and work with our local community and its unique needs
To be superior at developing new programs and teaching the skills that are necessary for today’s fast changing labour market

At Discovery, we strongly believe in the “learn by doing” philosophy. Our focus is on graduating fully-skilled, work-ready employees. The specialized career training programs from Discovery Community College are designed to equip you with all the knowledge and practical experience you need to achieve your career goals in a short period of time. That means you can be earning more money in a career you care about –without spending years in a classroom.

A Tradition of Success

As part of our goal to offer the best hands-on training to our students, Discovery Community College has formed alliances with numerous distinguished community partners. We are also registered with and designated by the Private Training Institutions Branch of British Columbia, formally PPSEC, since 1996.

Designation (and why it matters for you)

Designation is a process undertaken by schools who wish to prove their excellence by external standards and increase consumer confidence in their educational product. The process is controlled by the PTIB (The Private Training Institutions Branch), a government organization.

Because Discovery Community College has successfully completed the designation process, you can be sure that our performance in educational and administrative areas, the competence of the instructional staff, and the satisfaction rates with our students all exceed academic standards.

*All student funding, whether made available privately or through various government branches, is only approved to those who qualify, by the original source of funding. There are many criteria that each candidate must meet to be approved. Schools can only inform you of what may be available.