- There is a shortage of employees in schools, community centers and kindergartens. If we do not get more hands and heads, it may result in some schools and kindergartens being closed. This will cause the children to be sent home, says school principal Jørn Pedersen.
Number increase coronavirus cases, combined with influenza and RSV viruses, caused the school principal to warn in mid-November that some schools may be forced to close. At that time, a large number of workers were either sick themselves or at home with sick children, and the temporary labor market was empty.
- So far schools and kindergartens coped with the relocation of their employees. It works for a while, but it won't work in the long run. Workers are tired and infections continue to rise. The need for substitutes will continue for some time, says kindergarten director Monica Buvig Stenseth.
Stavanger Municipality is looking for replacements
Now Stavanger Municipality is coming out and looking for adults who have free time and like children, temporary vacancies in school and kindergarten.
- First of all, we need adults who will take care of the children. We're not specifically looking for people with a pedagogical background, but people who do are of course welcome to apply, says Stenseth.
The program works in such a way that schools and kindergartens report the need for deputies within a certain period (for example, three deputies in the period from January to March). When the municipality accepts candidates, they will be distributed to different schools and kindergartens. The individual company conducts interviews and ends employment on its own.
Above all, we need adults to look after the children
The people we are looking for are confident adults who can help permanent employees. It is in primary schools and kindergartens that the staffing crisis is greatest, but some upper secondary schools may also need additional replacements.
- Substitutes without a teaching training, for example, will not be assigned to run the classroom independently. Here we are talking about a sufficient number of adults in the school playground or kindergarten, SFO, middle school and classroom. Help is needed for permanent employees. If we don't have enough adults, the alternative is to shut down, says Pedersen.
Source: Stavanger Municipality
Read our next article: Agreement was reached on extending the rules on free mobile roaming in the EU
