12 Assistants will be trained locally
Parents and families in the Kelowna area will benefit from the addition of up to 12 new early childhood educator (ECE) assistant positions created through a government-funded work experience project.
These new positions will work one on one with children of all abilities, support the varying needs of the children, and allow more children to be included in the child-care setting.
The YMCA of Okanagan created the project in response to an urgent need for qualified assistants to work alongside early childhood educators. The project, in a second iteration, gives participants 15 weeks of skills training, followed by six weeks of on-the-job work experience with local employers who are eager to train – and potentially hire – the successful ECE assistants.
"As our government creates more affordable, quality child-care spaces in B.C., we will see a high demand for trained early childhood educators and assistants," said Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, who attended the announcement at the Kelowna Family YMCA. "Through this project, the participants will develop the skills needed to help them build a brighter future and families throughout the region will benefit by having more qualified professionals to care for their children."
A similar program ran last year and all participants who successfully finished the course were hired by child-care centres in the area.
The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction provided $123,120 in funding for this project through the Job Creation Partnerships stream of the Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) program. CEP funds projects that increase employability levels and share labour market information.
