Affordability & Accessibility
General News
Longreach Council cancels mobile unit in latest ECEC recruitment struggle
Freya Lucas
Jan 13, 2023
Save
Families in the remote Queensland towns of Aramac, Muttaburra, Isisford, and Ilfracombe are the latest to be impacted by the ongoing workforce challenges being faced by the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, with a mobile service being cancelled because no one could be found to fill a job vacancy.
For more than 15 years, the mobile service provided by Longreach Regional Council has offered one day a week of affordable ECEC to families in the remote towns, but will no longer run after a search for a second educator failed.At full capacity, with two educators, the service provided care for up to 14 children, and had an extensive waiting list. The Council advertised for a second educator, offering a salary of $62,000 and accommodation, but was unable to fill the role.
"Every time they take a service like this off us the town absolutely gets devastated because they know it's probably never going to come back," a local mother told the ABC.
United Workers Union executive director of early education, Helen Gibbons, said the issue was universal across the country, and particularly bad in more regional areas, calling for policy makers to address the root cause of the issue - wages for education and care professionals.
"It's really important that parents and families in the area are able to access early education," Ms Gibbons said, recommending that in this instance, Longreach would need to offer higher wages to attract and retain an educator.
"That's tough for the council but it's the only way that they are going to be able to support the parents in the area."
Read the original coverage of this story here.
Don’t miss a thing
Related Articles
