Executive Education to offer health administration Mini-Masters to 40 newcomer women

The Ted Rogers School of Management's Executive and Corporate Education program will facilitate a Mini-Masters program aimed at preparing racialized newcomer women for employment in health care.

The Foundations of Health Administration and Community Care Mini-Masters will be offered to 40 racialized newcomer women through the  Sister2Sister Advanced Leadership Program (external link) , offered by Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto (external link) . The program is scheduled for November 2023.

This is a skills and leadership development program that bridges the gap between employer needs and newcomer women skills through intensive training in soft and hard skills. The program serves highly-skilled newcomer women, with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, and several years of work experience, who are faced with multiple barriers when accessing the workforce in Canada.

“We're really excited about this. It's really helping build capability that is so desperately needed,” said Frank Miller, director of Executive and Corporate Education.

The Mini-Masters program is made possible through a partnership with Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto, which recently received $1.55 million in funding from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. (external link)  Through collaborations with Ted Rogers School and other post-secondary institutions, Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto has developed a training program to equip 230 newcomer women with employment readiness, career coaching and a paid internship that will propel their career advancement journey in Canada. 

"In partnership with the top business schools in Canada and a network of employers from different industries, we will create pathways to labour market inclusion for immigrant women, and will support them in building purpose-driven careers,” said Sara Asalya, executive director of Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto (external link)  in a release (external link) . “This invaluable funding allows us to reach out to those in need, provide essential services, and bring about positive change in the lives of countless immigrant women."

“Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto is thrilled with its partnership with Ted Rogers Executive Education to offer newcomer women in the healthcare sector work integrated learning and access to a variety of support services that will enable them to access the labour market,” Asalya said. 

Healthcare staffing crisis

In Ontario, healthcare comprised 12.5 per cent  (external link) of the workforce in 2021. But, over the last few years, the overburdened health system has been characterized by emergency room closures, long wait times, staff shortages and shrinking capacity. The province's Financial Accountability Office (FAO) report (external link)  released earlier this year, projects a shortfall of 33,000 nurses and personal support workers by 2028. 

Community care in Ontario supports people of all ages who require care in the community, at school or in their homes. It can include nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, and speech-language therapy among other areas. Community care has become increasingly important as Ontario's population ages. 

The Mini-Masters training will prepare newcomers to work in this high-demand profession and will be vital to address the shortage of community care healthcare workers in Ontario.

The Mini-Masters will provide an introduction to healthcare management knowledge and skills in the Canadian context for newcomers to Canada. It will cover Canadian federal and provincial legislation and regulations, community care health models, healthcare project budgets, timelines, project plans, numerical analyses, in addition to policy and strategy. 

The program’s classes will be held virtually over six Saturdays in a row, starting in November, followed by four half-day Saturdays for a capstone project, meant to provide an experiential learning opportunity for the participants. The program is currently accepting applications (external link) .

Career hub benefits 

In addition, program participants will be offered the opportunity to take part in bootcamps, at no additional charge, that will refine their hard skills, Miller explained. For example, basic Excel skills are required as a prerequisite for the Mini-Masters program - which is available through the Business Career Hub’s Power of Excel bootcamp.

Miller said Ted Rogers School will also offer Mini-Masters students career services through the Business Career Hub, a LinkedIn workshop, professional headshots and coaching on how to set up their LinkedIn profile. 

“We hope to make this an ongoing program,” Miller said. “We’re hoping to demonstrate the need for this type of education, for this particular audience in a way that is ongoing and perhaps even grows to more than once-a-year offerings.”