CHILD CARE: WCC ‘in critical need’ of staff - Children’s centre can’t take on new families until more educators are hired
Whistler Question
By: Megan Grittani-Livingston
October 9, 2008

WHISTLER – For the first time in the history of the Whistler Children’s Centre, a serious shortage of qualified Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) is forcing the WCC to temporarily stop taking on new families.

The Whistler Children’s Centre Society, which serves about 169 families in its two child-care facilities, issued a statement on Tuesday (Oct. 7) saying the staffing crunch will lead to “an undetermined delay in entering the centre” for the approximately 96 families on the waiting list. The WCC is “in critical need” of ECEs, especially those with specialized infant-toddler training, the release said.

While the WCC’s existing programs won’t be affected for the short term, the centre will need to attract between six and eight ECEs to keep all programs open, Program Coordinator Kari Gaudet told The Question.

The centre is “pretty much running at full capacity,” she said, adding, “but all we’re talking about right now is not being able to take on new families.” At this point in the month, Gaudet would normally be working ahead on the enrolment for November, seeking to fill empty spaces, “but I can’t,” she said.

The WCC has long had a core of staff that has enabled it to ride out the ebb and flow of staffing waves, but over time that core has been eroding, Gaudet said.

Fewer people are entering the ECE field, she said, so the centre hasn’t been able to scoop up as many graduating students. It’s also becoming more challenging to keep ECEs in the field, Gaudet said, because the wages are low relative to the type of work, and many women leave and can’t return after starting their own families.

“In the ECE field, there’s a really high burnout rate,” Gaudet added.

Those problems are common to the field and throughout the corridor, Gaudet said, but the issues are compounded in Whistler by the high cost of living and the lack of affordable housing.

It’s hoped that the usual bump from seasonal workers will help the situation, but it’s challenging to hire educators certified outside B.C. because of the provincial licensing process, Gaudet said.

The WCC is pursuing many avenues to attract qualified staff, Gaudet said, including advertising with all the colleges in B.C. that have ECE programs and with ECE publications and local papers, speaking at Capilano and Douglas Colleges, participating in local job fairs and discussing staff sharing with Whistler Blackcomb.

“We’re trying to be as proactive as possible,” Gaudet said. An emergency board meeting was scheduled for last night (Oct. 8).

The society’s release said officials are taking steps to retain staff, such as supporting a provincial campaign to push for a minimum wage of $20 per hour for qualified ECEs and offering child-care discounts for staff members who return after starting their own families.

For now, the WCC is asking for the community’s help in directing anyone looking for ECE employment to the centre, and in sharing contact information for appropriate housing to assist qualified staff the centre aims to attract.