Ontario has a shortage of caregivers. How many vacancies are projected?
Starting next week, the provincial government intends to interview early childhood care workers.
In Canada, there is a program to reduce daycare fees across all provinces. The plan is to reach $10 CAD per day. This is creating a need for kindergarteners. It is estimated that a total of 14,700 kindergarteners are needed at this time. But based on the number registered in this category, there will be a shortfall of 8,500 jobs.
Without further steps to recruit and retain, the province will come no closer to achieving this goal.
The education sector faces staffing shortages. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of registered educators dropped by 7%. The Ontario government is working to increase wages — from $18 CAD an hour they plan to reach $25 CAD within a few years. But experts say the pay is too low to keep professionals on the job.
Rachel Vickerson, executive director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators, has called for an immediate increase in wages to $25 CAD.
Colleges for teaching majors intend to reduce pay. But many graduate students cannot find jobs after training, and even those who work with a license leave because of low pay.
Each year colleges enroll about 4,200 new students, 72% successfully complete the program, and only 50% remain in licensed kindergarten jobs. Compared to teachers, childcare providers are twice as likely to leave after 3 years of employment.
What are the main problems faced by caregivers in Canada:
- low wages;
- limited opportunities for career advancement;
- heavy working conditions and higher responsibility.
The government intends to create 86,000 new places for children in Ontario; 33,000 have already been created. But when pay reaches $10 CAD a day, the need for additional places and caregivers is likely to increase.
The report also said that some provinces have invested local funds to raise wages to $25 CAD or even $30 CAD per hour.
