Early childhood education students in the north offered free, accelerated, schooling
Four northern Ontario districts are in the midst of a new partnership with Northern College that gave dozens of people access to an accelerated early childhood education program for free.
Some district social services administration boards in the region have paid the tuition, books and fees for around 40 students.
Timiskaming’s DSSAB recently announced that it’s funding six students, specifically those who are currently working in child care but are not yet certified early childhood educators (ECEs).
“It’s a compressed program,” said the organization’s manager of children’s services, Lyne Labelle.
“They will receive their two-year diploma in 16 months and the child care centres will benefit from having qualified staff.”
That adds up to around $10,000 of education costs per student being covered by the Timiskaming DSSAB.
Labelle said it is also topping up the students’ wages as they balance work and school. That means they’re being paid for class time, up to 40 hours per week.
The Cochrane district’s DSSAB is also participating. Children’s services manager Shannon Costello said it is helping working students achieve their ECE certifications.
“Educators that are currently working in the field, that are not qualified, work and get their qualifications at the same time,” Costello said.
This is all possible due to federal and provincial funding announced last year, under the Child and Early Years Workforce Funding program.
It’s aimed at recruiting and retaining ECEs. The problem is many left the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic and not enough ECE students are enrolling in post-secondary programs.
Cochrane DSSAB received around $850,000, which it is using partly to fund students’ education, as well as to develop programs for retaining existing staff.
The field has been seeing soaring demand for child care, with Ontario now cutting costs in half — after joining the national $10-a-day child care initiative — and with further demand expected once costs reach that goal.
Labelle said a recent local survey showed that parents are looking to return to the workforce as costs decline, which will only mean further demand for child care.
Costello said Timmins alone has a waitlist of more than 300 children for daycare and around 100 for after-school care.
ALREADY UNDERSTAFFED
With the province aiming to create 86,000 new child-care spaces, she said there’s pressure to make sure they’re staffed, adding that current spaces are already understaffed.
“We currently need 113 registered ECEs to open our spaces at full capacity, without any expansion,” Costello said.
The Nipissing and Kenora districts are also participating in the accelerated ECE certification partnership, in an effort to up-skill existing staff.
Post-secondary schools across the region also offer free pre-ECE online programs to get people started in the field.
The province also offers an Ontario ECE Grants program to help aspiring educators with tuition.
Labelle said though the funding is limited — the last round of workforce capacity funds is being issued in March — Timiskaming DSSAB is already considering supporting another cohort of students.
“As long as the funding is available, I think we’re going to follow this path,” Labelle said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca