THRIVE BY FIVE WELCOMES WA GOVERNMENT’S GRANTS FOR REGIONAL EARLY LEARNING WORKFORCE
Tuesday 23 January – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign has welcomed the Western Australian Government’s new grants initiative aimed at strengthening the State’s regional early learning workforce.
Regional local governments across WA will be eligible to apply for grants of up to $25,000, to fund initiatives that attract new talent and retain their existing early learning workforce [1].
Thrive by Five’s Jay Weatherill said that initiative would allow WA to address early educator workforce shortages, which are particularly profound in regional and remote areas.
“Ensuring that regional early years services have the resources they need to attract and retain educators is so important for kids and families,” Mr Weatherill said.
“This initiative will not only mean more children in regional communities can access the benefits of high-quality early learning, it will also enable more parents to re-enter the workforce.
“We know that Western Australia, much like all other states and territories across Australia, has a shortage of early years educators, and initiatives like these can help address these challenges.
“A child’s postcode should not determine if he or she can access high-quality learning in their early years. However, in many pockets of Australia, that remains the case.
“Bridging the gap between urban and regional early learning access requires concrete government action and we congratulate the Western Australian Government on taking this step.
“Thrive by Five’s Workforce Action Plan [2] outlines how governments at all levels can further support their early educator workforce, and we look forward to working with the WA Government on helping deliver concrete reforms.“
[1] Grants to attract educators to regional WA – Western Australian Government
[2] Thrive by Five – Workforce Action Plan
Media contact: Iona Salter (Essential Media), 0413 185 634
