The operator of a pre-school child education program thinks she might be able help oilpatch companies address their labour shortages.
Lynne Harris owns First Steps & Beyond Inc., a Red Deer business that provides early childhood training, as well as support for gifted, English-as-a-second-language and other students.
It’s now adding a nanny program, through which in-home caregivers will be trained and contracted out to parents in need of help.
Harris said the idea resulted from discussions she had with local energy companies that are struggling to find the employees they need.
In some cases, skilled workers are turning down jobs that require out-of-town commitments because they have families.
“They’re saying, ‘I can’t go because I have children.’”
In addition to requiring workers to stay at job sites for extended periods, some companies need staff who can respond to call-outs on short notice, added Harris.
“And there’s no such thing as on-call childcare, at the moment.”
First Steps & Beyond would maintain a roster of nannies who could be assigned to clients as required. Harris said they would include full-time live-in nannies, full-time live-out nannies, part-time nannies and even on-call nannies who would be available for employees of specific companies.
She thinks companies that participate in her nanny program could use it as a recruitment tool to attract employees.
First Steps & Beyond is currently accepting applications from prospective nannies and families, with screening and training expected to take place in January.
Successful applicants would complete a five-day training course on nutrition and meal planning, child psychology, stages of development, child behavior, discipline, activity planning, first aid and family dynamics.
“We’re shooting for approximately Feb. 1 to have the nannies ready to roll,” said Harris, who’s confident the program will prove popular.
“There is nothing like this.”
Additional information about First Steps & Beyond can be found on its website at www.firststepsandbeyondinc.com.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com