A new Early Childhood Workforce Strategy which aims to grow the workforce, boost professional development with targeted training, and address workforce shortages has been released for Queensland educators.
The Strategy includes an Australian-first Queensland Early Years Institute (the Institute), a key professional development initiative, which invests $9.15 million to help train educators to address challenging behaviour and $7.4 million over two years to ensure aspiring educators develop leadership and management skills.
“We’ve taken action with this Strategy to attract the right talent and put more educators in the centres, while upskilling the current workforce and building clear career pathways,” said Minister for Education, John-Paul Langbroek.
The funding is additional to the 2025-26 Budget commitment to safeguard Queensland children by bolstering the Early Childhood watchdog with an additional $12.7 million in funding and 29 full-time regulatory officers. Additional boots on the ground will ensure the Regulatory Authority conducts more visits and more safety checks to give little learners the best start in life, said Minister Langbroek.
“We’re bolstering support and safety in early childcare settings, and we will not stop fighting for our kids,” he said.
“A national approach is the best way to keep our kids safe, but we will not wait.”
The Queensland Early Childhood Workforce Strategy is centred around six strategic priorities which includes:
- Attract and retain – promotes early childhood as a rewarding career including the range of benefits, supports and experiences on offer to tackle workforce shortages and increase the number of educators in centres.
- Qualifications, skills, and pathways – bolsters the skills and capabilities of the sector through targeted support and high-quality training pathways.
- Quality – driving continuous improvements to the sector to ensure there is a sustained, skilled, and capable workforce.
- Strong leadership – inspiring leadership excellence through targeted professional development strategies.
- Professional recognition – acknowledges the expertise of the early childhood workforce and elevates the status of the profession.
- Wellbeing and resilience – Fostering the wellbeing of workers by providing access to guidance programs and support.
Minister Langbroek will hold an urgent roundtable tomorrow with key early childhood stakeholders, the Queensland Family and Children’s Commissioner and Australian Early Childhood Quality Authority (ACECQA) to help fast-track next actions to secure the sector and better protect children.
“The safety and care of children is our utmost priority and parents deserve full confidence when they drop their kids at a childcare centre,” Mr Langbroek said.
