Efforts are underway to get more early childhood educators into the sector to meet increased demand.
Education Minister (alternate) Tom Osborne acknowledges that access to child care has been made more challenging due to greater affordability and the number of ECEs who have left the sector in recent years.
Osborne says the promised new ECE wage grid comes into effect April 1st – retroactive to January 1st – and ECEs currently in the system are being provided with a new $2000 dollar one-time appreciation bonus.
The department is reaching out to workers who left the system in recent years and it’s his understanding that early childhood training programs are full.
He acknowledges that it takes time to create and educate people to work in the sector.
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