SEIU Healthcare Training Centre Secures $1.3 Million to Train Internationally Educated Nurses for Canada's Healthcare System
SEIU Healthcare Training Centre to bring 100 nurses from expensive bureaucratic maze to practicing on the frontline of care
RICHMOND HILL, ON, Jan. 27, 2026 /CNW/ - The SEIU Healthcare Training Centre has secured $1.3 million in new funding from the Government of Canada's Future Skills Centre to expand education and workforce readiness supports for 100 internationally educated nurses across Ontario.
This new funding will allow the SEIU Healthcare Training Centre to grow program capacity and strengthen delivery as need and demand for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) grows. This funding builds on the success of 2025 funding from the same program, which saw 50 nurses supported through the training centre's IEN Career Pathway Program.
The IEN Career Pathway Program delivered by the union's training centre supports participants as they work toward licensure and integration into Ontario's healthcare workforce, with an emphasis on preparation and workforce readiness. By offering personalized case management, financial support, and targeted training, the SEIU Healthcare Training Centre program better equips participants to break down the systemic barriers that internationally educated nurses often face when entering the Canadian healthcare system and provide them with the tools they need to transition smoothly into the Canadian workforce.
Estimates in Ontario alone puts our projected nursing shortage to be over 30,000.
QUOTES:
"At the end of the day, it's Canadian patients who really need this program because we simply need more nurses. With this funding, our union's IEN Career Pathway Program will move 100 more internationally educated nurses to the frontline of care to better support the delivery of healthcare in Canada. At a time when many are calling for pathways for nurses, SEIU Healthcare is putting them in place." – Tyler Downey, President, SEIU Healthcare
"When I arrived in Canada as a nurse from Ghana, I didn't have the right information, and without the right information it's difficult to move through the expensive maze of bureaucracy. The union's program helped me navigate the process so I could practice as a nurse in Canada." – Ejekwu Perpetua, Internationally Educated Nurse who participated in the program
SEIU Healthcare Training Centre delivers education and workforce readiness programs that support healthcare workers at different stages of their careers. Through structured training and preparation, the training centre is supporting internationally educated nurses and others as they navigate regulated pathways into Ontario's healthcare system. For more information about the Internationally Educated Nurse Career Pathway Program, visit www.seiutrainingcentre.ca
SEIU Healthcare is a union proudly representing more than 70,000 frontline healthcare workers across Ontario. Learn more at www.seiuhealthcare.ca
SOURCE SEIU Healthcare
For media inquiries, contact: Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Director of Strategic Communications, 416-529-8909, [email protected]
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