Early childhood education sector faces challenges now and post-pandemic

DESPITE being more likely to recommend their employer, nearly half of early childhood education and care professionals would not advocate pursuing a career in the sector, according to new research from industry super fund HESTA.

Launched today, the State of the Sector 2021: Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Insights report looking at the working experience and attitudes of HESTA members reveals the industry – already facing chronic workforce shortages – faces significant challenges attracting and retaining talent.

Almost one in five early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals surveyed said they were considering leaving the industry within two years. Among the biggest issues were dissatisfaction with wages, feeling unappreciated by the community for their role as early educators, and a lack of opportunities for growth (promotion).

The research did find positive sentiment across a range of measures related to how ECEC professionals felt about their employers, with 87 percent saying they felt somewhat or strongly supported by their employers during COVID.

However, this did not flow through to a greater willingness to advocate for working in the sector. 

Although 42 percent of respondents said they would strongly recommend working for their employer, 43 percent were strong detractors when it came to recommending a career in the industry. Less than a third of respondents said they would strongly recommend a career in the industry.

“This research shows the big gap between how professionals feel about where they work and whether they see a long-term career in the industry,” HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said.

“It’s great to see individual employers stepping up and supporting their employees, but unless the broader issues of low pay, a lack of development opportunities and community perception are addressed, the industry will face a chronic shortage of skilled professionals.”

In a 2019 workforce report on the future of the ECEC workforce, the independent Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) forecast the sector would need more than 39,000 extra educators by 2023 - a 20 percent increase in the workforce.

HESTA has more than 63,000 members working in the sector. As part of this workforce research project, HESTA surveyed professionals working across health and community services in May 2019 and in July 2020. More than 4600 members responded to the survey, including more than 360 ECEC professionals.

Questions looked at member’s job intentions, their employment satisfaction drivers, their attitudes towards their employer and industry, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their work, financial situation and industry outlook.

HESTA members working in ECEC had the lowest median super account balance of any industry cohort, with 74 percent having a median account balance of less than $50,000. Hit hard by the pandemic, nearly 20 percent of HESTA members working in ECEC also made a claim under the Federal Government’s early release of super (ERS) scheme. This group saw their median account balance fall by an average of 49 percent.

“During the pandemic we saw the critical role our early educators play in supporting our community," Ms Blakey said.

“We also saw just how precarious their employment and financial situation is. We know from the early release of super, the heartbreaking prevalence of financial hardship among these members and it points to the need to improve the quality and security of jobs in the sector.”

Over a third of respondents reported that their household income was less than $60,000 and almost one in five reported their household earned less than $40,000.

“HESTA strongly supports free universal childcare as a key productivity measure to improve women’s workforce participation and lifetime earning potential in order to lead to better outcomes for generations of Australian children,” Ms Blakey said.

“When Australia faced the initial shock of COVID-19, early educators were there to support the push to protect our community. Now is the time to ensure a long-term, sustainably funded, early childhood education sector. But this funding must also look to lift low wages and improve conditions for those who are so vital to delivering these critical services.”

The report is available at hesta.com.au/ECECreport21

 

KEY FINDINGS

• 47% of respondents would strongly recommend their leader or manager.
• 42% would strongly recommend to family and friends working for their employer. This was strongest among younger members (18-29 years of age), with 64% recommending working at their employer and 77% their employer’s services.
• 54% of respondents would strongly recommend their employers’ services.
• The top three reasons given for staying with their employer were: colleagues and coworkers, employer’s location and ‘liking the company I work for’.
• The top three reasons for leaving an employer were: developing new skills, trying something different and not being paid enough.
• Their salary was the most disliked aspects of their roles followed by not enough opportunities for growth (promotion).

ends