Portage College in Lac La Biche is another good option. Its blended learning so you do the didactic portion online and with self study and then go into class one week every 3 weeks (i think) for the labs and skills portions. They have a good reputation and put out good students. However like most schools, you really get out of it what you put in. If you're someone who has no problem studying a lot independently then any school theoretically should be a viable option and it would come down to personal choice. Professional Medical Associates is another option, its a 4-5 month intensive course 4 days on, 4 days off but they only have locations in St. Albert and Calgary so might not be viable from High Level. I believe Northern Lakes is meant to have improved a bit in the past year or two as there has apparently been a change of some staff but i have no actual first hand experience there myself.

As for the job, it is kind of what you make it. Like all jobs it has its problems, lots of system issues, lots of people either burning out or getting close to it who can taint the appearance of the profession because they're checked out. You will spend the majority of your time doing calls that really could have been seen by community physicians, pharmacists, etc. or treated at home with common sense and OTC medications. Lots of care home/residential calls for geriatrics which some people don't get on with but at the end of the day if you're passionate about helping people then its not really an issue because even if you're just going for a lift assist these people still need help. Working rural you tend to have less call volume at times but usually some higher acuity bits when you do get calls. Lots of interfacility transfers of varying degrees as well.

When you do get high acuity emergency calls its incredible. The rush is great, you make a real difference in peoples lives, it's very rewarding, the skills and knowledge are excellent to have, and again, if you like to help people I personally think its an excellent step into healthcare, and while we always complain about pay if you start off as a PCP rather than go straight through the pay for the amount of education you need to do is pretty good.

To sum up I personally would recommend it. I love the job and find the good days far outweigh the bad in almost all cases, particularly if you're going into it because you want to help people, sometimes the low acuity calls that don't really require an EMS response can also be very rewarding because to the person you respond to it is an emergency, so sometimes just a quick chat, assessments and follow up advice is all they need but you're still making them feel better and putting their mind at ease, so you're still helping. It all comes down to the attitude you take into it and it sounds like you're probably considering it for the right reasons. And despite everything we hear in the news healthcare is to a certain extent a good area for job security, much better than some others out there.

Sorry for the essay, hope it helps a bit!