Recruitment & Retention of Child Care Staff

The development of a Recruitment & Retention Strategy will respond to the current and future requirements to recruit, retain, and recapture individuals to work in licensed child care. The strategy will lay the foundation of a quality early learning and child care system resting on qualified and dedicated child care staff.

The strategy is set in the context of the overall ELCC Plan to add more day care spaces, increase subsidized spaces, and provide ongoing support for our child care sector. It is important that Nova Scotia have a skilled and more stable workforce, in sufficient numbers, with the leadership that effectively meets the needs of our children.

The key objectives of the Recruitment and Retention Strategy are to:

• Develop and implement strategies to encourage people to enter the child care workforce.
• Develop and implement strategies to retain current staff of the child care workforce.

The key strategy areas include:

• Promoting child care as a career choice.
• Organizational development.
• Developing leadership.
• Developing workforce skills and capacity.
• Reviewing accountabilities specific to funding aimed to increase salary and benefits, and
• Resourcing the workforce.

Using a phased approach for the Recruitment and Retention Strategy, this page will provide a window into the strategy itself and the details of the initiatives that are developed.

Recruitment and Retention Strategy Initiatives:

• Early Childhood Education Assistance Program
• Continuing Education Program

Please provide feedback and/or comments to ELCC@gov.ns.ca.