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Ace moment POLICE BEAT PAGE 3
Briagolong’s Chelsie Hanna, 10, realised a dream when she tossed the coin for a match at the Australian Open last week. k..
FEATURE STORY - PAGE 6
READER GALLERY PAGE 13
‘WE ARE FULL’ Zoe Askew
MILESTONE MAN SPORT
UNDER pressure, early learning centres across the Wellington Shire have closed their doors and locked them as Gippsland's early childhood education and care sector faces an unprecedented increase in demand for childcare while simultaneously dealing with a national shortage of teachers and educators. In June 2021, the Skills Priority List (SPL) from the National Skills Commission (NSC) placed the childcare occupation in the top seven per cent of all professions in short supply and high future demand. The National Children's Education and Care Workforce Strategy reports that the Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce must see a workforce increase of more than 19 per cent over the next five years to meet early childhood education and care demand. However, early childhood education and care qualification enrolments are at a five-year low. According to the Australian Industry and Skills
Committee, there were just over 30,000 ECEC qualifications completed in 2020, a decrease of more than 10 per cent since 2016. The Australian ECEC sector has been grappling with staffing shortages for years. In a 2021 United Workers Union report, which surveyed almost 4000 early childhood teachers and educators, 70 per cent would not recommend employment within the ECEC industry as the workload is excessive, the pay is low, and they feel undervalued. The average retention rate is dire, with an excessive number of ECEC professionals leaving the sector due to inadequate and unsustainable workplace conditions. The National Children's Education and Care Workforce Strategy reported in 2020 that the average tenure for ECEC employment is less than four years. Gippsland is no exception to the shortage of ECEC professionals. The Department of Education's 2020 Victorian Teacher Supply and Demand Report revealed that Gippsland has the second-lowest proportion of early childhood teachers in the state, with a total of just
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350. The report further indicated a total of 13 waivers granted across Gippsland exempting early childhood care providers from EC teacher requirements, the highest number in the state. The Department of Education grants waivers to providers as a last resort due to recruitment challenges. COVID has further added to the issues deeply rooted throughout Australia's stressed Early Childhood Education and Care industry, resulting in limited availability in childcare centres and further staffing shortages causing mayhem for many families across the Wellington Shire. For Briagolong mother of three, Lucille Florisson, the inability to obtain her 10-month-old son a position in childcare has resulted in unemployment. As Ms Florisson reached the end of her maternity leave, she began to make arrangements for her son; however, despite contacting numerous centres in Sale, Maffra and Briagolong, the answer was the same - ‘We are full.’
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