Job requirements Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) in Canada

Employment requirements

This is what you typically need for the job.

• Hearing instrument practitioners require completion of a two or three-year college diploma in a hearing instrument specialist program, and a period of supervised training.
• Licensure with a regulatory body is required for hearing instrument practitioners in all provinces except in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Ontario. Ontario requires membership with the Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners (AHIP). Hearing instrument practitioners can prescribe and dispense hearing instruments except in Ontario where dispensing is dependent on a prescription from a physician or audiologist.
• Communicative disorders assistants and speech-language pathology assistants require completion of a three- to four-year college program.
• Ophthalmic medical technicians require completion of a one-year hospital based ophthalmic technician training program or a minimum of one year on-the-job training working as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.
• Ophthalmic medical technologists require completion of a two-year hospital-based training program in ophthalmic medical technology, or a 4 year bachelor’s degree program in Ophthalmic Medical Technology or a minimum of two years of on-the-job training working as a Certified Ophthalmic Technician under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.
• Certification by the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology may be required by employers.
• Physical rehabilitation therapists, who are only found in Quebec, require completion of a three-year physiotherapy or rehabilitation techniques college program and a period of internship.
• A permit to practice issued by the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ) is required for physical rehabilitation therapists.
• Physiotherapy assistants require completion of a two-year physical therapy assistant (PTA) college program, or a two-year rehabilitation therapy assistant program and supervised practical training.
• Occupational therapy assistants require completion of a two-year occupational therapy assistant (OTA) college program.

Source National Occupational Classification

Professional certification and licensing