The staff shortage in the childcare sector is slowly decreasing. However, concerns remain, especially regarding the long-term shortages.
The staff shortage at organizations in daycare decreased from 30 to 23 percent in one year, according to the new labor market survey by Kinderopvang werkt! (Childcare Works!), a collaboration of employers’ and employees’ organizations. Thus, less than a quarter of the organizations are now experiencing a shortage.
In after-school care, the shortage decreased from 44 to 36 percent, and in toddler care from 20 to 14 percent. “Small steps, but in the right direction,” the organization says.
However, according to the organization, existing shortages are more often long-term. In the survey, 18 percent of the organizations indicate that the shortage has lasted longer than three years, while that was still 9 percent half a year ago. “Structural solutions remain necessary to make childcare future-proof,” the organization emphasizes.
Although the number of employees in the childcare sector has been increasing for years, waiting lists are hardly shrinking. Daycare has the most organizations with waiting lists (72 percent), followed by after-school care (65 percent) and toddler care (32 percent).
Criticism of the quality of interns
To cope with the staff shortage, people work more hours than stated in the contract, employees cover for each other, or managers and staff members participate on the work floor.
The majority of the organizations are satisfied with the number of available interns, but less happy with the quality. “Organizations more often mention that some interns had little motivation or that the requirements from the education did not match their expectations of the interns,” Kinderopvang werkt! reports. The number of organizations that worked with self-employed persons decreased from 30 percent to 13 percent.