Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is the Nursing Graduate Guarantee?
Part of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s (MOHLTC) health human resource strategy – HealthForceOntario – the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) is an initiative aimed at ensuring that every new Ontario nursing graduate (RN and RPN) who wishes to work full-time in the province will have that opportunity.
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How long will the Nursing Graduate Guarantee positions last?
The length of the Nursing Graduate Guarantee positions will vary based on the needs of the individual employer. However, New Graduate Guarantee positions must be maintained for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 32 weeks (7.5 months).
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Is a request for funding to support a Nursing Graduate Guarantee position 100 percent guaranteed?
Yes. Within the parameters of the initiative, the government is committed to providing all new Ontario nursing graduates with the opportunity to move into full-time employment immediately upon graduation.
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Are new graduates getting this full-time job opportunity over other nurses?
New graduates in supernumerary Nursing Graduate Guarantee positions will have to compete with any other nurses on staff when applying for permanent positions. The supernumerary ("above staff complement") Nursing Graduate Guarantee positions are intended to support new graduates in ultimately gaining full-time job opportunities by providing them with the experience that makes them job-ready and more marketable.
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What is being done to support experienced nurses in the field who want full-time positions?
As part of the government’s Nursing Strategy, efforts are underway between the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and employers to increase the number of nurses employed full-time to 70 percent. The government has targeted $50 million annually for the creation and maintenance of full-time positions for nurses in the province. In addition, the government has committed to creating 17.55 million additional hours of nursing care (9,000 nursing positions) over the next 4 years.
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Will this be an ongoing initiative?
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care will continue implementing the Nursing Graduate Guarantee in 2009/10 under the existing terms and conditions with 100 percent of funding providing new nurses with a guaranteed job opportunity.
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For the Employer
How does my organization participate in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee?
Employers must complete the following requirements to participate:
- Register with HFOJobs;
- Create a profile (that includes information about the facility and community) and specify the number of positions that will be created;
- Accept applications from new graduates;
- Conduct interviews and select new graduates;
- Submit the organization's letter of offer through the portal;
- Receive the match confirmation letter, obtain appropriate signatures and send request for funding to the Ministry;
- Employ new graduates for the length of time specified in the funding letter ;
- Notify the MOHLTC if the position is terminated prior to the end of the contract;
- Provide a comprehensive orientation for the new graduate (minimum requirements for orientation are outlined in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Guidelines).
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Can all organizations participate in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee?
To be eligible under the Nursing Graduate Guarantee, an employer:
- must receive transfer payments from the government for the provision of nursing services (including those funded by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services as well as the Ministry of Education);
- must already employ nurses to support mentorship of the nursing graduate in a supernumerary position; and
- must have the infrastructure to support successful implementation of the initiative. This may include physical infrastructure, nursing education or professional development initiatives and management supports.
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Does the Nursing Graduate Guarantee apply to all sectors?
Yes. These employment opportunities for 2010 Ontario nursing graduates will include all sectors: hospital, long-term care, home care, public health and primary health care.
Please note that Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) are eligible under the Nursing Graduate Guarantee where: Home care agencies have existing contracts with CCACs (e.g. receive third party payments from the government) and meet the second and third criteria noted above, under question 8.
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How will the new graduates be compensated?
New graduates will be paid sector-appropriate wages and benefits as outlined in the organization’s human resource policy and collective agreements. The funding agreement will respect the conditions of the collective agreement.
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How will the MOHLTC funding be released to my organization?
If the New Graduate Nurse is hired by your organization with a start date between the months of April to mid-October, 80% of the funding for this graduate's salaries/benefits will be released to your organization. The remaining 20% will be released once your organization has submitted the final report as required by the MOHLTC.
If the New Graduate Nurse is hired by your organization with a start date between mid-October to March, the percentage of funding flowed to your organization will be deferred gradually (at approximately 10 percent for every month) to account for the amount of funds that can be spent by the end of the fiscal year (March 31). The outstanding funding as it applies to the first 80 percent installment will be flowed in the next fiscal year and the remaining 20 percent will be flowed after your organization has submitted the final report as required by the the MOHLTC.
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Does my organization have to guarantee new graduates a permanent full-time job after the Nursing Graduate Guarantee position?
The Nursing Graduate Guarantee has been designed as a comprehensive initiative to address not only the underemployment of new graduates, but also the broader systemic issues that limit the creation of full time positions. Therefore, a number of employer resources are being developed to help build nursing workforce management and planning capacity across the health care system. This will ultimately support the retention of nurses through the creation of more full time positions.
Employers are strongly encouraged to examine their nursing human resource needs and draw upon HHR management and planning resources to develop innovative solutions to increase permanent full-time job opportunities for nurses. If the employer is not successful in bridging the new graduate to a permanent full-time position by the end of the 6 months, employers are required to provide funding for 6 weeks of additional, above staffing complement time in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee position.
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What if the new graduate nurse finds a permanent position within the organization before the end of the placement?
The new graduate would be encouraged to move directly into that permanent position as the Nursing Graduate Guarantee is a time-limited initiative. If the new graduate is bridged to a permanent full-time position during the 26 weeks (but after the initial 12 weeks), the remaining funds can be re-invested by the organization in other nursing priorities as specified in the guidelines.
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What if the new graduate nurse finds a permanent position in another organization and leaves the organization before the end of the placement?
The new graduate would be encouraged to move directly into that permanent position as the Nursing Graduate Guarantee is a time-limited initiative. If the new graduate leaves the organization, any remaining funds must be returned to the Ministry.
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If a new graduate is bridged into a permanent full-time position after 3 months but before the end of the 6-month funding period, which front-line nursing initiatives can my organization re-invest the remaining funding into?
If employers are able to bridge new graduates into full-time permanent positions after the minimum 3 months but before the end of the 6-month funding period, all nurses will benefit from the re-investment of remaining salary dollars into other front-line nursing priorities. A list of eligible re-investment initiatives may be found here in the NGG Guidelines (see Appendix B).
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What advantages does this initiative offer to my organization?
The Nursing Graduate Guarantee allows for the following benefits to the employer:
- The Ministry will provide 100 percent salary dollars and benefits for up to 26 weeks for new graduates;
- Employers can better market their organizations, and augment their existing recruitment and retention strategies through this comprehensive and integrated approach;
- The NGG is an important opportunity for employers in all sectors to leverage an investment that will help them to be better prepared for the pending retirements in the nursing workforce;
- It assists in levelling the playing field for all organizations regardless of size and, in particular, will help with recruitment to rural and northern areas.
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How will experienced nurses benefit from the Nursing Graduate Guarantee?
This initiative offers the following benefits to experienced nurses:
- The addition of confident and well-prepared new graduates as members of the team positively impacts all nurses;
- Leadership opportunities for staff to mentor the next generation of nurses, imparting valuable knowledge and expertise, which will translate into superior patient care, and contribute to making the organization an employer of choice;
- As part of this initiative, the Ministry is also supporting a number of capacity-building projects to support organizations in nursing workforce planning that will ultimately benefit all nurses.
- In cases where new graduates are bridged to permanent full-time positions before the end of the 6 month period, employers can re-invest remaining Nursing Graduate Guarantee funds in other initiatives to support existing front-line nurses. A list of eligible re-investment initiatives may be found in the NGG Guidelines (see Appendix B).
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We’re located in a remote area that’s hard to "sell" to new nurses. How will this initiative help us?
It is expected that the Nursing Graduate Guarantee will particularly benefit remote and underserviced areas. The Nursing Graduate Portal will provide access to a huge pool of new graduates and the opportunity for all employers to promote their sector, organization and community in a comprehensive way. The approach assists in levelling the playing field, and provides "reach" for all employers. The Ministry has also introduced a Nursing Community Assessment Visit Program through which eligible employers may apply for reimbursement of travel costs for graduates (and their spouses, if applicable) who are interested in working in their community.
Visit the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website for more information on the Nursing Community Assessment Visit program.
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Who can I contact if I have technical questions or problems related to the Nursing Graduate Guarantee portal?
All technical support questions should be directed to HealthForceOntario's HFOJobs:
North America: 1-800-463-1270 (press 6)
Toronto: 416-862-2200 (press 6)
E-mail: hfojobs@hfojobs.ca
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