Trades students prepare for work in a COVID-19 world

Care homes around the province have been some of the hardest hit places from COVID-19.

For students preparing to finish their training to become personal support workers and get jobs in care homes around the province, training has looked a lot different compared to students who would have taken the same program in past years.

Despite the drastic changes, the students we spoke with feel more than ready for what today’s work environment might look like.

Bola George is in the final few weeks of his course. Following the end of six weeks, he will get to do on-site training in a care home in Regina.

“What we have been doing in our classes right now is what is going to get us out there, everything has been COVID related,” George said. “It gives us the opportunity to be able to work really well outside in environments where COVID could be a risk.”

Whether it’s learning enhanced cleaning measures or dealing with masked mannequins, things look different in the classroom.

Regina Trades and Skills Centre executive director, Brian Shankowsky, working at his desk. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

Brian Shankowsky, the executive director of the Regina Trades and Skills Centre, says student practicums have been one of the biggest things impacted.

“It’s definitely very different. The students that are in our personal support assistant class will only be allowed to work in one elder care facility if they are allowed to,” Shankowsky said. “Many of them would have typically got to work in many different facilites. It’s a lot more difficult to plan and arrange what practicums would look like now.

“We just have to be adaptable, we have to be flexible, we have to make we have to make it work and and make it work in a practical matter. ”

The Regina Trades and Skills Centre has not had any positive cases of COVID-19 in the building, nor has it had any students or staff get infected.

Despite that, Shankowsky knows there is a possibility it could happen, impacting everyone in the school in the process.

“There have been situations that we’ve had to deal with along the way, where we’ve had individuals that have been exposed through a third party, whatever it is close contact, or (they were in the) wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “We have protocols in place for us to to look at situations as they come in and make sure that we react properly to whatever could happen.”

George, much like many others, wasn’t going to let the coronavirus get in the way of him pursuing an education.

“I’ve always loved caring for the elderly, I’ve always loved caring for people who cannot assist themselves. I love being around people to bring joy,” George said. “At the end of the day, if the people I am caring for are happy, I’m happy.

“We have to care for the elderly or the people that are fighting sickness, we have the right tools, the right training to be able to do all these things. We are not scared anymore.”