Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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614. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of male early years educators employed across the State; the European Union targets for male employment in this sector; the steps being taken to ensure that more males seek employment in this sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42600/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In line with commitments in First 5, in December 2021, I launched Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare and to raise the profile of careers in the sector. The Plan includes role profiles, a career framework and commitments to support early years educators to up-skill and develop their careers. It also includes commitments to reduce staff turnover, to attract graduates to enter and remain in the sector along with actions to actively promote careers in Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare.

Commitments in Nurturing Skills are organised under five "pillars" which are:

1. Establishing a career framework.

2. Raising qualification levels.

3. Developing a national Continuing Professional Development system.

4. Supporting recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce; and

5. Moving towards regulation of the profession.

Under pillar 4, Nurturing Skills , amongst other forms of diversity, commitments to promote gender-balance in the workforce. This commitment is important in providing diverse role-models for children, and in ensuring strong connections between Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services and the families and communities that they serve.

Whilst improving gender balance in the Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare sector is an important consideration at an EU level, currently no specific targets have been set.

Data collected by Pobal through the Annual Early Years Sector Profile showed 3% of the workforce was male in the years 2022/23 this is an increase of 1% from 2022.