The past few days have shown us that there are still many families waiting for a place for their child in our network of educational childcare services. Knowing the number of parents (and toddlers) who are waiting is essential for the progress of the Big project for families.
Nevertheless, whether it is 72,000, 51,000 or 33,000 families waiting on the list, the reality remains the same on the ground: there is a crying lack of personnel in our network. Even if we manage to create these places on paper, there are not enough educators for these places to be occupied by children.
The labor shortage should be one of the priorities for the Big Worksite for Families. Without all the staff who work to educate our little ones, we will still be in the same situation for decades to come.
Moreover, speaking of figures, the data on vacant positions and the number of workers to be hired remain imprecise. The creation of spaces goes hand in hand with the management and hiring of early childhood staff, that goes without saying.
When we know that 50% of educators who leave the network do so in the first year and that the college program in early childhood education techniques receives fewer and fewer registrations each year, it is imperative to reflect now to the future of the profession, and not only to short-term solutions such as short courses.
We must also continue the efforts that have succeeded in stopping the bleeding in a regulated and subsidized family environment. It is a good omen to see openings, but we must not lose sight of the fact that places are available in this category of children’s services, although they are not occupied due to the lack of workers.
We do not doubt the will of all the actors to want to complete the network and to allow it to meet the needs of all families, as it was initially planned in 1997, by Pauline Marois.
However, it is essential that we look, and quickly, at a medium- and long-term strategy in order to attract the next generation in early childhood and ensure that the workers in place continue their careers within our network.
There are concrete solutions and we will continue to propose them, particularly in the context of the next negotiations to come this spring.
The benefits of the early childhood network no longer need to be proven: toddlers who attend it have fewer difficulties in the school network, the network provides better equal opportunities for children from all backgrounds and allows thousands of women to continue their careers after parental leave.
It is a human, educational and social wealth that is carried at arm’s length by staff who are increasingly exhausted and less and less present on the starting line. Above all, let’s not lose sight of the idea that without early childhood workers, the creation of spaces will not be able to meet the needs experienced by Quebec families.