Quality and Cost Of New Zealand Childcare Keeping Parents Out Of Work

A new international workplace survey has found that more than half of New Zealand parents would be prepared to take on more paid work if quality childcare was available.

The cost of childcare is also of substantial concern to working parents.

A total of 57% of parents said they would work longer hours or be more productive at work if they could find quality childcare. Many of those who want to do more work are highly trained and want to resume their careers.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index sought the views of approximately 70,000 people in 28 countries including more than 1,200 in New Zealand.

Of the 28 countries in the survey, New Zealand ranked sixth highest for concern over childcare costs.

The biggest barriers to finding appropriate childcare were cost, identified by 42% of respondents, followed by quality of service (30%), waiting lists (12%) and traveling time (4%).

Concern about costs of childcare was evenly spread between men and women and across all age groups.

“The survey shows there is a groundswell of people who would be more productive if only they could find adequate childcare,” said Wendy Hewson, Service Operations Manager, Kelly Services.

“Many of those who want to engage more fully in the workplace are university educated or had successful careers prior to having children, so they can be highly productive once they resume work.

“These people represent an important national resource. There has been considerable investment in their education and training but their real value is being lost to the community and the economy because of a lack of childcare opportunities.

“Employers can often help by providing family friendly workplaces, flexible hours or opportunities to work from home”.

Of those who would be prepared to do more work, a significant number are highly qualified, with more than a third (35%) holding university qualifications.

The survey shows that typically women are the most burdened by a lack of suitable childcare, but there are also a surprising number of men who are affected. Some 62% of New Zealand mothers say they would commence work or work longer if there were suitable childcare, compared with 51% of New Zealand fathers.

The survey found that 42% of all New Zealand parents surveyed did not use childcare. A total of 29% used private childcare, while 13% used government-subsidised childcare and 7% used government-provided childcare.

“Finding the right childcare can be a daunting exercise for many who want to balance their family and working lives,” Wendy Hewson said.

ENDS

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