The attractiveness and retention of staff are important issues within the CPEs in the region. (File photo)
As of March 2, 2024, the number of qualified educators in CPEs will be increased to two out of three, a measure that is of particular concern to centers on the Coast -North, already exhausted by the labor shortage.
Normally, two out of three educators must be qualified in a facility, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Family had lowered this ratio to one in three.
Since March 1, 2023, it has even increased to one out of two
The ministry intends, however, to raise the ratio to two qualified educators out of three from 2024.
For the director general of the CPE Picassou, Nadia Ziat, achieving this ratio is not possible for this establishment in Havre-Saint-Pierre. Of its four educators, two are not qualified, but one of them nevertheless takes the steps to have her skills recognized, a process that takes about three years.
Nadia Ziat says she hasn't had any applications from qualified educators for the past 10 years. She fears the loss of subsidy that could occur as penalties for CPEs who cannot respect the ratio.
You are penalized for something you have no control over. I think it's boring because if we look for money in other envelopes, we may cut services that are as important as educators' salaries. , explains Ms. Ziat.
The director general of the CPE Picassou, in Havre-Saint-Pierre, Nadia Ziat
Same story for the general manager of CPE Magimuse in Baie-Comeau, Lucie Vaillancourt, who indicates that none of the educators on her recall list are qualified.
She believes that in the event that her funding is affected by the impossibility of meeting the ratio, her recruitment efforts will be even more difficult.
Lucie Vaillancourt is the Executive Director of CPE Magimuse on rue Mingan in Baie-Comeau. (File photo)
I've been hoping for funding stability for 20 years and I've been in the network for 23 years. Funding stability not only allows educators to be attached to positions, but also to attract them and ensure them long-term work that will not be cut because of the budget, says Ms. Vaillancourt.
For the Executive Director of the Regroupement des CPE de la Côte-Nord, Odette Lavigne, the creation of a remote region status could give a way out for CPEs nord-côtiers.< /p>
We are thinking about it a lot, it is one of the requests we are considering. A funding stability that does not guarantee the qualification rate, what could it bring to the North Shore? The answer is that it could help us stabilize jobs, she says.
Director General of the Regroupement des CPE de la Côte-Nord, Odette Lavigne (File photo)
She adds that promoting the profession is also a good way to attract qualified educators.
At the time of publishing these lines, the Ministère de la Famille was not able to tell us what sanctions would be imposed on CPEs who do not respect the new ratio of qualified educators.
On the side of the CPE Nid d'Hirondelle, in Sept-Îles, the interim director general, Line Chiasson, affirms that the ratio of qualified educators is not a source of concern compared to several other CPEs in the region. . Of the 13 employees of the CPE, only two of them are not qualified.
It is certain that with the shortage of manpower, it is more difficult, but the two to three ratio is nothing new, it has always been the standard of the Ministry of the Family, recalls Line Chiasson.
The acting director general of the CPE Nid d'Hirondelle, in Sept-Îles, Line Chiasson
The latter indicates that it owes its success to its employees. It's a small team and it's the way the employees are that makes the difference, she argues.
Line Chiasson adds that the ratio is important to ensure quality service in CPEs.
With information from Lambert Gagné-Coulombe
