Looming workforce shortages The introduction of the requirement under the National Quality Framework for all staff in early childhood services to have at least some level of tertiary qualifications in early childhood has meant strong demand for qualified and experienced staff. In recent years many universities have moved to no longer offer stand-alone early childhood qualifications, instead rolling them into a more general education qualification. This has meant many graduates move into the school system rather than early childhood due to more attractive working conditions and salaries. It has also resulted in a loss of training in children’s development. The high demand for Certificate III qualified staff has meant a proliferation of training providers who are producing graduates who are not necessarily meeting our needs (some without even any practical experience of working with children). The previous Australian Government introduced funding for professional development for early childhood educators, which ended in June 2017. Since then there is an additional cost for providers to continue to upskill staff (which has to be passed on to families), or staff skills are not being kept up to date (which impacts on children). With the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, there is also significant pressure on disability service providers to recruit qualified allied health staff. Some professional accreditation standards have been raised which restricts which staff can work unsupervised, and many allied health professionals are moving into private practice as they can earn more money. It is increasingly challenging to recruit quality staff with experience and training for both our early childhood and disability services, and forecasts are that this will become even more difficult over the coming years. In response, we are continuing to offer our own program of professional development that supports staff across all disciplines, and are developing a more formal employee value proposition that will align with our new strategic plan. 22