The early childhood education and care sector struggles with workforce shortage, and at the same time childcarers’ paths to further education and training have been blocked

The early childhood education and care sector suffers on the one hand from increasing unemployment and on the other hand from a growing shortage of qualified workforce. This is leading towards a situation where it will be quite impossible to comply with those provisions of the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care that enter into full force in 2030. 

Trade Union JHL is very concerned about the present situation in early childhood education and care. The sector was struggling with difficulties before, and now its woes have further increased. Childcarers in early childhood education and care have lost in practice all opportunities to pursue further education and training.  

The adult education benefit has been abolished, even though this sector badly needed more workforce with the required qualifications. Without education and training of workforce, it will not be possible to implement the staff structure requirements of the reformed Act on Early Childhood Education and Care. 

Shortage of workforce is going to grow worse especially in those sectors that require employees with a specific degree, such as for example teachers and social pedagogues in early childhood education and care. At the same time, an increasing number of childcarers in early childhood education and care have to settle for fixed-term employment relationship and work under constant uncertainty.

JHL conducted in 2024 a survey on the working conditions in early childhood education and care among its members. Survey responses revealed that the longer a member has worked in the sector, the less their career advancement opportunities are discussed in development discussions.

– This is quite inconsistent with the objective to educate new teachers or social pedagogues in early childhood education and care from existing early childhood education and care sector employees, who have robust experience in the work of this sector, states JHL’s Senior Education Policy Specialist Hanna Takolander.

More than 2,000 JHL members responded to the survey.

– All opportunities for self-motivated studies have been taken away. Could this be solved by obligating private and municipal employers to educate childcarers into teachers and social pedagogues in early childhood education and care? That way they could avoid violating the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care right from the start, Takolander proposes.

Uncertainty and unequal treatment of different personnel groups darken the atmosphere of many workplaces in early childhood education and care. This has a direct impact on attraction and retention of workforce in the sector. The present situation is mainly the outcome of factors that are connected to the quality of working life: wellbeing at work and coping with work and the challenges of staffing levels and management.

– Early childhood education and care is broken. If something is not done about it, the crisis of this sector will grow even bigger. There is already a lot of unemployment in the sector, and one can only imagine how things will be when the reformed act enters into full force, Takolander warns.

More information:

Hanna Takolander,  Senior Education Policy Specialist, 044 0750 850