The Social Service Worker – Gerontology program integrates the knowledge base, professional values and skill-sets of social service work with a specific concentration on the needs, challenges and concerns of Canada's aging population. The program focuses on a holistic and strength-based approach to help aging clients maintain a good quality of life. As a student, you will have the opportunity to develop skills such as program planning; individual and group modes of facilitation; interventions with clients, their families and significant others; case management; interpersonal communication and skills related to working with bereavement and grief. You will also benefit from a very substantial fieldwork placement component, which starts in the second semester and runs through the third and fourth semesters. Graduates tell us important factors for success in SSWG are: study skills, time management, class attendance and participation, taking personal responsibility for the outcomes of one's actions, minimizing the number of hours that might be occupied by part-time employment and the ability to deal constructively with the stresses of a busy life.

Demand for skilled and knowledgeable professionals to work in a helping capacity with seniors is increasing as Canada's population ages. The Social Service Worker – Gerontology (SSWG) diploma prepares graduates to provide community services and products to seniors with a wide range of physical, psychological, social and financial challenges. After four semesters, you may find fulfilling employment opportunities with agency providers of seniors' services such as government agencies, not-for-profit agencies, for-profit agencies and private individuals. You may also find a wide range of employment opportunities in many different levels, including coordination of home support services (e.g., meals on wheels, transportation, friendly visiting, congregate dining, homemaker services and telephone reassurance), work in programs for people with dementia, activation coordination, supportive housing coordination and coordination of volunteer programs. Some graduates have started their own businesses. Advocating for and empowering seniors to achieve their goals is an important aspect of all these employment possibilities. Graduates of the SSWG program are eligible for registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).