Briefing Note
Prepared for: Regional Districts of Central Kootenay,
East Kootenay, and Kootenay Boundary & ColumbiaShuswap Regional District Area A
Issue: The lack of affordable housing is amplifying
workforce issues in the childcare sector.
Date prepared: November 13, 2024
Prepared by: Selkirk Innovates & Community Futures
East Kootenay

Purpose: To call attention to the need for affordable housing for childcare workers, in order to
support the overall viability of the sector and to highlight the role that local government can play.
Background
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Issues in childcare have a negative impact on overall economic development. A lack of
accessible, affordable, high-quality childcare is a barrier to individuals entering, or
remaining in the workforce.
A recent study identified issues impacting childcare in the region that extend beyond the
lack of available spaces, including:
• An unpredictable and shifting regulatory environment, that can be difficult for
providers to plan around
• A situation wherein employers are unable to have the funds necessary to cover
their costs
• Workforce shortages, as well as issues such as difficulties in recruitment and
retention
Workforce issues were the second highest ranked issue for childcare providers.
Providers noted that this was a barrier to staying open, as well as expanding services.
Workforce attraction and retention is a complex challenge relating to factors like wages
and working conditions. However, one of the most significant challenges impacting
recruitment and retention was availability of affordable housing.

Discussion
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Childcare providers are taking multiple steps to address recruitment and retention
challenges. However, they are unable to provide housing to their employees to address
this issue, as:
• Childcare providers are already under a situation of financial stress, and do not
have the funding to provide housing

Providing housing is beyond the mandate and skillset of these childcare
providers
There are ECE’s (domestic and international) who have expressed a desire to relocate
to rural regions like the Kootenays, but a lack of housing is a barrier to doing so.
To address this issue, local government must convene multi-partner collaborations
across community partners – including childcare providers - to find innovative ways to fill
the housing gap in order to facilitate the attraction and retention of potential employees
within the childcare sector.
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Conclusion & Next Steps
A lack of accessible and affordable housing in the region causes workforce issues in the
childcare sector, which leads to issues in the wider workforce as families are unable to access
the childcare services they require to remain in, or to enter the workforce. This acts as a barrier
to rural development in the region. As childcare providers are unable to address this issue on
their own, local governments need to intervene. This intervention will have widespread benefits
for the workforce of the region, far beyond the childcare sector.