Early Years – The Organisation for Young Children is working to develop a sector‑wide Workforce Vacancy & Skills Pipeline Initiative to support the emerging strategic priorities for providers across Northern Ireland.
This short-form data collection tool will enable Early Years to collate real-time information on vacancies, hard‑to‑fill roles, and emerging workforce pressures across the sector. By gathering consistent evidence from providers in every council area, Early Years will be able to:
- Strengthen lobbying efforts with councils, the Department of Education, and wider stakeholders
- Demonstrate the scale and urgency of workforce shortages in early education and childcare
- Advocate for targeted pre‑employment academies designed specifically for the Early Years sector
- Work to build a sustainable pipeline of new entrants into early education and care roles
- Support the delivery of a refreshed sector strategy focused on quality, accessibility, and workforce resilience
- This initiative forms a key element of Early Years’ new strategic direction for providers, ensuring that workforce planning is evidence‑based, regionally responsive, and aligned to the needs of children, families, and providers.
This survey should take around 2-3 minutes to complete and will be crucial in helping us develop a solution to support your setting.