Demands are increasing – 13,700 kindergarten teachers could be missing by 2030

The research was carried out by the University of Klagenfurt and the Institute for Vocational Training Research (öibf) on behalf of the Ministry of Education. Thus, without education policies, the gap between the supply of places and demand would widen or childcare ratios would continue to deteriorate. The study authors therefore see a clear need for action. According to the research, assistant staff could be recruited more quickly than primary school teachers, but using them would also lead to poorer structural quality. Recently, several states have announced plans to improve childcare conditions – they are responsible for legislation in kindergartens.

There is currently a shortage of 1800 skilled workers
According to a survey, the need for specialized staff is not or insufficiently covered in more than a quarter of the institutions. The staff child key does not meet the needs of the groups and the increasing demand cannot be adequately met with the existing staff. Three-quarters of the kindergarten teachers surveyed indicate that it is (much) more difficult to find suitable personnel for vacancies than ten years ago. According to more than half of the teachers surveyed, the fluctuation is also (much) greater than before. According to the study, there is currently a shortage of 1,800 skilled workers.

There are currently about 61,000 kindergarten workers, six times as many as in the early 1970s. Nearly 42 percent are assistants. The majority of kindergarten teachers work part-time, with only 40 percent working 36 hours a week or more.

Too little appreciation and salary
More than a quarter of the working population will retire in the next ten years. In addition, 15 percent want to change jobs within a reasonable time, four percent want to do so immediately. Among the youngest workers, only one or one in four can imagine staying in this sector until retirement. As reasons for wanting to change quickly, the respondents cite too little appreciation and salary, but above all that the work is too hard mentally, the groups are too large and they feel that the needs of the children are not being met.

The current program at the Federal Institute of Basic Education (Bafep) is popular, but the number of graduates has increased by 40 percent in the past 20 years to nearly 2,400. However, a large proportion do not work in kindergarten after graduation. In a survey of students in their senior year as part of college, only half said they wanted to work in preschool right away.

Only 54.7 percent of the students of the five-year BHS long form, in which one acquires not only the vocational qualification but also the Matura, enters kindergarten after the Bafep qualification. The rest prefer to go to university or choose another profession. 83.7 percent of graduates who start their education after passing their final or entrance exams for a vocational school or university, and are therefore already adults, decide to start working in kindergarten after graduation.

To improve the staffing situation, the research team proposes measures against staff turnover, such as extra administrative and support staff, a better care ratio and new working time models for older workers to reduce the number of early departures. To reduce the stress of daily life, a pool of jumpers and substitutes for failures should be created.