Debate contribution: Childcare Sector: Support
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 24 February 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Childcare Sector: Support
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4813640
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As I have mentioned to other Members, childcare is a priority across the Executive. I wholeheartedly welcome the positive steps that are being taken by the Education Minister and others towards supporting child development, improving affordability for families and supporting parents to work. Our economic vision sets out the need for investment in affordable childcare and fair pay for childcare providers. My skills agenda is looking at how we can best create a larger pool of qualified workers in the childcare sector, and I have ring-fenced £740,000 in the skills fund to support pathways into childcare that will help support the supply of workers to that critically important sector. Through working collaboratively, we have already developed childcare micro-courses through our six further education colleges and a pilot assured skills academy in early learning and childcare. The gender employment gap research that I commissioned has already been made available to the market research work on targeted business support for childcare providers, and my officials, along with Invest NI, continue to work closely with the Department of Education, including representation on a range of related cross-departmental groups. I am fully committed to working with the Minister of Education and other Executive colleagues to implement the early learning and childcare strategy.
208 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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