Afterschool Workforce Development: Staffing Challeges

The Challenge of Afterschool Staffing

Imagine trying to fill 50,000 jobs in one year...

What if an industry larger than the size of the 120,000-person telecommunications industry one day announced it would lose up to 40% of its workforce that year - and every year after? What if we knew this field had no "out-sourcing" options? That, instead, it provided vital local services throughout the state and was an essential part of the fabric of every California community?

This is the magnitude of the challenge facing California's afterschool and school-age child care industry. Every year, afterschool programs lose up to two out of every five staff to turnover, creating a constant pressure to recruit, hire, and train new workers. This problem was exacerbated by the growth of the afterschool field through Proposition 49 and the addition of 2,000 new afterschool programs (approximately 12,000 new jobs). Who will staff these new programs? And why does this challenge matter for California? CalSAC is working to answer these questions.

Afterschool work is unique in several ways. The vast majority of the jobs it offers are part-time during the school year, with a longer schedule over the summer. Most positions are entry-level, with entry-level (though competitive) wages. Of the 137,000 afterschool jobs in California, only an estimated 30,000 offer the promise of advancement to full-time hours and a long-term career. Despite these hurdles, this turnover rate cannot go unaddressed. Afterschool programs need staff stability in order to run quality programs for children and youth and communities need afterschool programs so parents can work knowing their children are in a safe and enriching place after school.

In partnership with afterschool employers, local workforce investment boards, and community colleges, CalSAC is bringing the afterschool workforce challenge to light and finding creative ways to secure a consistent, trained pipeline of workers for the field. These workers, in turn, receive excellent entry-level job opportunities that mesh well with post-secondary education schedules and provide an ideal pathway into a job in education, social service, health, business, and a number of other sectors that require the human relations and job performance skills utilized in the afterschool field.

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