Advocates demand Alberta address shortage of early childhood educators

Child care groups say during the pandemic, about 4,000 early childhood educators left the industry and never came back.

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

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

Child care groups say during the pandemic, about 4,000 ECEs left the industry and never came back. They believe better compensation would mean better quality of care as well as more access for families.

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

“There are some quick fixes the government can do as well. We have a wage top-up program. It has not been increased since it was implemented in 2018. They could very quickly increase those wage top ups to keep pace with inflation at least.”

More than a year ago, Alberta and the federal government signed a deal for $10-a-day child care, which reduced costs for families as well as increased the number of licensed programs. While that has helped many parents with affordability and access, the situation is still dire for workers.

Demand for affordable licensed child care spots is still outweighing supply.

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