The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of training and employment
as a health care aide on the personal and public lives of nine immigrants, eight of whom
were women. These individuals had successfully completed a combined skills and ESL
training program for Home Support or Home Support/Resident Care Attendant at an
immigrant settlement agency on the west coast of Canada approximately one to two years
prior to the study. The program trained the individuals to work as care aides in private
homes or long term care facilities as well as provided training in English skills. A
qualitative approach was chosen in order to explore the issues and themes that were
relevant to the participants, from their own perspectives, with regard to the impact of
training and employment as a health care aide on their lives.
The findings revealed that participation in a training program had a significant
impact on the individuals' lives. Acquiring an occupational skill for the health
professions gave some of the individuals an occupational identity as well as personal
fulfillment. For others, this training helped them to find meaningful employment and
facilitated their integration into Canadian society. However, finding full-time
employment proved to be a challenge for most of the participants. They encountered
many barriers to employment for example, the need to work on-call and the resultant lack
of a stable income; conflicts between domestic responsibilities and work outside the
home; transportation limitations; and personal barriers, such as age, work experience, and
education. On the positive side, participation in the training program helped the
individuals to improve their English skills which increased their confidence, independence, autonomy, and self-esteem. Improvement in English skills also facilitated the individuals'
settlement and integration into Canadian society. In addition, knowledge of health care
had a positive impact on the individuals' ability to care for their family members.
Overall, participation in a skills and language training program had a significant impact on
the individuals' identity, family life, and settlement in Canada.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8993 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Wong, Fung Ping |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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