Childcare Shortage Part 3

In many ways, the desperate childcare shortage in Haliburton County is exposing cracks in the system that need solving. In part 3 of its series on the childcare shortage in the region, CanoeFM spoke with the Co-CEO of Compass Early Learning and Care which operates one center in Minden. Ashley Collins has been with Compass for 10 years and has witnessed waitlists grow not just here but province-wide. The Compass facility in Minden is not operating at full capacity, due to another challenge – finding qualified early childhood educators to fill in the care gap. The shortage of childcare is seen through the struggle to attract candidates with livable compensation and benefits and being able to retain them. For students interested in pursuing ECE, the closest post-secondary school that offers it is in Peterborough and there’s no transportation system in place. Childcare operators like Compass need a lot of space, around 6000 square feet, and that’s often hard to find.