Education & Child Care Employers
More hiring difficulty than average
Highlights
1.A large share of Education and Child Care employers reported hiring difficulties for entry-level positions. 2.The share of Education and Child Care employers that cited work experience and demonstrated skills as important or very important far exceeded average employers. 3.Education and Child Care employers were more likely to select financial subsidies and partnerships with educational institutions as most valuable to promote work-based learning at their companies. 4.Education and Child Care employers were more likely to engage with community colleges for partnerships.Similarities to Average Employers
The Education and Child Care sample resembled average employers in a few ways:
- Education and Child Care employers' top reasons for hiring difficulties were low numbers of applicants and lacking employability skills.
- 40% of Education employers used AI. They also reported no recent impact on employment and low expected impacts on worker demand as a result of AI.
- Among Education and Child Care employers, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity and innovation were expected to become more important in the future due to AI.
Differences from Average Employers
1. A large share of Education and Child Care employers reported hiring difficulties for entry-level positions.
2. The share of Education and Child Care employers that cited work experience and demonstrated skills as important or very important far exceeded average employers.
They also more frequently described two-year/Associate degrees and industry certifications as important or very important.
3. Education and Child Care employers were more likely to select financial subsidies and partnerships with educational institutions as most valuable to promote work-based learning at their companies.
4. Education and Child Care employers were more likely to engage with community colleges for partnerships.
What This Says About Education and Child Care
The differences between Education and Child Care employers and businesses in general are likely owed to industry regulations and the professionalism and caregiving skills required to work in school and child care settings. Far higher shares of Education and Child Care respondents assign importance to work experience/demonstrated skills, industry certifications, and two-year/associate degrees.
Upon closer inspection of the data, the difference in hiring difficulty is largely a result of Child Care employers, who represent a large share of this sample — close to 60% of Child Care employers reported difficulty hiring for entry-level positions, versus 40% of other education employers. Regardless of sectoral details, education and workforce development partners must do their best to meet these employment challenges. For more details on strategies, read through our full report via the link below.