Early educators face workplace, pay stress
Early educators are leaving the industry due to excessive workloads and low pay, according to a survey of thousands of staff.
The United Workers Union polled almost 4000 current and former early educators, releasing the data on Tuesday.
According to the union, workers are leaving at record levels due to the industry's conditions.
More than a quarter of current educators reported they plan to leave the sector within the next twelve months and of those educators who do plan to stay, almost half (46 per cent) think about leaving 'all of the time' or 'most of the time'.
It's a sector that needs about 40,000 more staff by 2023 to meet growing demand.
"The message from early educators across the country is clear: they are at breaking point. There is no early childhood sector without early educators, and they simply can't afford to stay and hold it together anymore," UWU's Early Education Director Helen Gibbons said in a statement.
"The pandemic has exacerbated an existing problem, with job vacancies close to doubling compared to pre-COVID levels. High workload because of increased understaffing is pushing more and more educators out of the sector."
The majority of workers (70 per cent) told the survey they were 'always' or 'often' worried about their financial situation, 81 per cent of centre directors say they have difficulties recruiting and across the industry, providers say new enrolments are capped to deal with staff shortages.
"Without urgent action, this crisis will spiral out of control and children and families will miss out, losing access to crucial early learning services," Ms Gibbons said.
