Health care aide

A day in the job

In continuing care you help residents get up and dressed, assist at meals, help with toileting and moving safely, and tell the nurse about any change you notice. It is physical work and often the closest relationship anyone on the team has with a resident.

Where you could work: Continuing care, home care, hospitals

How to get there

1. Complete a Health Care Aide program approved by the CLHA (most take a few months, with a practicum)

Alberta schools: NorQuest College (opens in a new tab), Bow Valley College (opens in a new tab), Red Deer Polytechnic (opens in a new tab), Portage College (opens in a new tab)

Licence and registration

1. Pass the Alberta HCA Registration Exam (AHRE), required of new graduates since February 2, 2026
2. Register with the College of Licensed Health Professionals of Alberta (CLHA)
3. Employers also ask for a criminal record check, a vulnerable sector check and CPR

Official starting point: College of Licensed Health Professionals of Alberta (opens in a new tab)

Trained outside Canada?

Health care aides are a regulated profession in Alberta. If you trained outside Canada, apply to the CLHA, which decides whether your training is equivalent before you can register.