Early childhood educators say N.L. budget falls short of what they need

The Newfoundland and Labrador government promised more child care spaces in Wednesday's provincial budget, but two early childhood education students wanted to see more promises of benefits and a focus on retention within their chosen field.

"A lot of people have the [idea] we are babysitters, but we are educators and we should be treated that way," said Mckenzie Neilson, who's about to graduate from the Level 2 certificate program at the College of the North Atlantic in Corner Brook.

"It would be really nice if we could see pensions, benefits [and a review of] the wage grid often so we are compensated often throughout our career."

Neilson says early childhood educators coming out of school make $25 an hour, have no mandatory sick days and receive few benefits.

Neilson and her classmate Allie Wells skim through their old textbooks in their classroom. They're finished classes now. They have exams next week and then officially graduate in May.

Their studies took them two years to complete, with a graduating class of only 17. The two students anticipated more from Wednesday's budget for the time they put into their studies.

The provincial government committed to creating more child care spaces in 2025 and is supporting the $10-a-day child care initiative with a $110 million operating grant.

Another $3.9 million will go toward increasing the number of child care spaces this year.

For Wells, more spaces means hiring more staff. But for her, that's not the issue — retaining and supporting the educators is.

She hears horror stories about ECEs leaving the workforce due to burnout after only a few years.

"I think the government should focus on keeping them in the field, it seems like. Yes we want to have more ECEs, but we want to keep the ECEs that we already have," said Allie Wells.

During her work placements, Wells discovered situations where there were just not enough staff on certain days and the regulated child care centre had to shut down temporarily. 

She wants to see more emphasis on the staff to child ratios, with more staff supports. 

Wells has accepted a job as an early childhood educator in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, starting this summer. Neilson is hoping to work for a registered daycare in Corner Brook starting in July.