The Alberta authorities is increasing its New Beginnings Scholarship for nursing college students throughout the province.
The scholarship was created final 12 months to supply monetary help to low-income college students finding out in certified high-demand packages reminiscent of engineering, pc science and plane upkeep.
The $8.5 million growth of this system will assist as much as 1,700 nursing college students with a one-time, non-refundable $5,000 scholarship. Recipients will probably be chosen from scholar mortgage candidates who meet program and monetary eligibility standards, in response to Superior Training Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.
Learn extra:
The Alberta authorities would require annual ‘free speech reporting’ from post-secondary colleges
Learn subsequent:
2 youngsters lifeless, driver faces expenses after bus crashes into Montreal-area day care
The growth of this system goals to make post-secondary training extra reasonably priced for nursing college students and to coach nurses to enter Alberta’s well being care sector.
The Alberta authorities mentioned the scholarship as an entire will assist about 3,400 low-income college students in varied fields by the top of the 2023-2024 educational 12 months. In whole, the federal government mentioned it had invested $17 million in this system.
“Each Albertan deserves entry to high-quality training. Value shouldn’t be an impediment,” Nicolaides informed reporters on Wednesday.
“Alberta’s authorities is working to make sure that all Albertans have the chance to be taught and practice for a rewarding profession.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes as Alberta continues to attempt to carry extra nurses into the workforce because the well being system struggles to maintain up with demand for providers.
Unions representing well being professionals mentioned there’s a nursing scarcity in Alberta that quantities to a staffing disaster. At one level throughout labor negotiations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a nurses’ union expressed its disappointment when the province’s well being authority proposed a wage refund for nurses. An settlement was later ratified that nurses acquired pay will increase.
Nancy Tran, a fourth-year nursing scholar at Mount Royal College, mentioned the New Beginnings scholarship will assist ease the burden on her and her classmates’ shoulders.
Learn extra:
Alberta nurses are leaving frontline well being take care of much less annoying items, jobs
Learn subsequent:
Turkey-Syria earthquake: Hope fades for survivors as dying toll exceeds 11,000
Publish-secondary training is pricey, she mentioned, and plenty of work one or two part-time jobs to afford tuition and fundamental requirements.
“As a scholar, there are such a lot of issues to maintain up with inside and out of doors of lessons,” Tran mentioned throughout Wednesday’s information convention.
“Monetary help, just like the New Beginnings scholarship, will alleviate (monetary stress)… It means we will concentrate on our training when we do not have to emphasize about cash.”
Nicolaides didn’t elaborate on further helps for post-secondary college students, most of whom should not eligible for the province’s affordability fee program.
Nonetheless, he mentioned the federal government is working to search out methods to supply monetary help to post-secondary college students.
“There are further measures and extra helps which are at present being investigated and mentioned particularly for post-school college students. We can have extra within the coming weeks,” the minister mentioned.
© 2023 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
