Ontario to boost wages for ECE to mitigate labor shortages in most licensed childcare centres in the province.

Ontario is making efforts to address the province’s labor market shortages. One such effort is pay hikes for early childhood educators. 

In most licensed childcare centers, the province intends to raise the minimum wage of early childhood educators (ECE) to $23.86 per hour next year. This is more than the planned boost of $20.

According to the Province, the pay hikes are expected to reduce the shortages that are inhibiting the expansion of the national $10-a-day program.

As per the Advocates, the shortage of Early Childhood Educators has impacted the sector’s growth. This has led to the closure of many centers due to insufficient staffing.  

Recently, Canada’s education Stephen Lecce released the childcare workforce strategy this November featuring the wage floor growth. As per the government, this measure aims to elevate Ontario’s starting wages for ECEs from one of the lowest to one of the highest in Canada. 

Ministry officials have cautioned that by 2026, Ontario might undergo labor shortages of around 8,500 Early Childhood Educators. This is the same year Ontario expects to have built around 8,500 more seats as a part of the national childcare system.

Ontario to Boost Wages For ECE. The province has signed an agreement with the federal government to participate in the national $10-a-day program. As part of this, they have established a wage floor of $ 18 per hour in 2022, boosting it by $1 yearly up to $25.

As per Lecce’s new strategy, the wage floor will reach $23.86 per year next year. Also, it will continue to grow by $1 per hour yearly, up to $25.86 in 2026. 

What is Canada’s $10-a-day national strategy?

According to the Canadian government, all families in Canada should have access to high-quality, reasonable, and adaptable childcare and early learning. This is regardless of where they live in Canada. 

Canada intends to make childcare more affordable for families with children in 92% of licensed centers and home daycares. For this, it has reduced the childcare center fees to almost half (50%).

Additionally, they are expected to be decreased even further to an average of $10 per day by 2026.

This measure applies throughout Canada outside of Quebec. This is because Quebec already has an inexpensive and well-established early learning and childcare system.

Almost half of all provinces and territories already have regulated childcare for 10 hours per day (or less).

For the future of children, high-quality and inexpensive childcare is crucial, and it also encourages more gender equality. This allows more parents, especially mothers, to join the workforce and attain increased economic security.

Overall, high-quality childcare will help enhance Canada’s economy, enable more women to join the workforce, and provide every child in Canada with the best beginning.

Understanding Early Childhood Educator Jobs in Canada

The official website of the Canadian government gives a study of primary labor market indicators like job vacancies and employment growth.

This helps predict the available job spots and the number of job seekers from 2022 to 2031 across various employment sectors in Canada.

In 2021, there were 229,100 Early Childhood Educators or childcare workers in Canada. As per the predictions, over the period of 2022 to 2031, the estimated new job openings for ECE are 108,800, whereas the expected new job seekers are 91,500 that can fill the available spots.

In terms of labor supply, around three-quarters of individuals seeking these jobs are school leavers. These are mostly college graduates. 

The remaining quarter of job seekers will be immigrants. This is because this professional group, i.e., Early Childhood Educators, is more popular among newcomers. This is particularly true for women.

According to the government website, particularly in Ontario, the employment perspective for the 2022-2024 period will be good. Ontario to Boost Wages For ECE. The following are the factors contributing to a fruitful employment perspective:

  • The expansion of employment will create various new job spots.
  • Due to retirements, a relatively small number of job positions will be available.
  • As per recent experience, this occupation has a relatively small number of unemployed individuals.