The provincial government has been taking strides to fill one of the most important gaps in education. Earlier this week, they announced an additional $14.4 million in funding for ECE programs at several colleges in Manitoba, including Assiniboine College.
In the province's news release, Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister, said Manitoba's early learning and child care workforce is growing, but more trained educators are essential to supporting families province-wide.
Brian Cox, Acting Dean of Health and Human Services with Assiniboine College, said the additional funding will certainly go a long way for the college.
"Assiniboine is going to receive roughly $6.2 million over the next 2 years to continue to fund the ECE expansion projects that were part of a large expansion back in 2023. These expansions include workplace mentorship programs here in Brandon and in rural communities, online for example as well, we also have a qualifications recognition program for newcomers to Canada, those are people with foreign training or experience in ECE," said Cox.
The province also imposed a new wage grid for ECEs which took effect on April 1st. The new grid comes with a retroactive pay increase of up to $7.00 per hour, depending on certification and facility size. Cox said that will definitely be one more big reason why people will consider an ECE career, but there plenty of other reasons why it's an enticing career.
"When you can graduate from a 2 year ECE program and expect to earn a wage of $28 an hour, that is going to attract new people to the profession...a career in ECE is full of purpose and meaningful relationships with children and families, we have educators that are going and working with children, they're observing things like brain development and physical skills, and there's a lot of reward in that," said Cox.
Cox said some of the specifics of ECE programs are another interesting thing. He said you wouldn't expect it, but the field of study itself is very unique.
"The area of study itself is quite fascinating when you're thinking about doing research on brain development, and empathy, and social connections, it's a fascinating thing to study," said Cox.
ECEs haven't always been a dime a dozen. For a long time there was a shortage of ECEs in the province and in Canada, but Cox hopes the government's recent steps will help fill that gap in the workforce.
"Wages in the past, they were very very low, and so that was unattractive, and so that created gaps in having people that are long-term committed to the career," said Cox.
The Manitoba government has made expanding ECE job opportunities in the province a high priority. Click here to see the province's Early Learning and Child Care Workforce Strategy.
