Advocates demand Alberta address shortage of early childhood educators

On the National Day of Action for Child Care, advocates are urging the Alberta government to raise wages for early childhood educators.

The average wage of a Level 1 early childhood education worker (ECW) is just above the minimum wage. So, ECEs and childcare directors are asking the province to boost wages and create a competitive salary scale to help keep staff in Alberta.

Child care groups say during the pandemic, about 4,000 ECEs in Alberta left the industry and never came back. Child Care Now Alberta estimates there are currently approximately 16,000 ECEs working in Alberta.

The groups believe that better reimbursement will mean better quality of care as well as more access for families.

“We need a plan for training more ECEs that work for people who are in urban as well as rural centers,” said Susan Cake with Child Care Now Alberta.

‘There are some quick fixes that the government can also do. We have a wage supplement program. It has not been increased since it was implemented in 2018. They can very quickly increase those wage supplements to at least keep up with inflation.”

More than a year ago, Alberta and the federal government signed an agreement for $10-a-day child care, reducing costs for families and increasing the number of licensed programs. While this has helped many parents with affordability and access, the situation is still dire for workers.

The demand for affordable licensed childcare places continues to outstrip the supply.

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“People who work as ECEs often cannot afford childcare for their own children, so it is difficult to have a family and stay in the sector. And it’s hard to live in rural Alberta too,” Cake said.

Members of the Child Care Now group are calling on provinces and Ottawa to take steps to make child care of higher quality and more accessible.

The group says one major problem is a shortage of early childhood educators and other childcare professionals.

Advocates are asking the federal and provincial governments to raise wages and improve working conditions in child care, ensure high-quality child care programs with qualified educators and decent working conditions, and make access to this care universal like public education or health care.

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