Western Germany is lacking in daycare spaces, while the eastern federal states are suffering from a shortage of daycare staff, according to a new report by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
The report predicts a difficult future for daycare centres in Germany, especially as the findings forecast a shortfall of qualified educators and daycare staff in the coming years. The gloomy prediction detailed how more than 230.000 extra highly-skilled workers would be needed to meet the demand for childcare by 2030. This means that more workers would need to be trained than is possible in the nine years before 2030.
Problems in the daycare industry are also split across regions. While eastern Germany in particular stands to suffer from a staff shortfall, western Germany has too few places available for children under the age of three. The issues for both sides of the country could be resolved with more qualified educators to expand daycare capacity and provide a better staff-to-child ratio.
The Education and Science Union have asked the government to introduce national minimum standards for the daycare industry. They hope that this could help the staff-to-child ratio become better across the country.
The German Children's Fund has also called on the government to improve the quality of childcare for children in Germany. The Bertelsmann Foundation’s study found that the best way to increase the quality of education is to retain qualified workers for longer, and train new workers ready to support the next generation of children.