A quarter of a million more childcare places need to be created in the region by the end of the decade as rising house prices and family break-ups force increasing numbers of parents into the workplace.
Employment experts fear the unprecedented demand is set to result in a recruitment crisis with an estimated 35,000 extra nursery workers having to be found and trained in little more than two years.
Currently there are between 350,000 and 400,000 childcare places in the West Midlands, but that figure is predicted to rise to about 650,000 by 2010. An army of 85,000 nursery nurses will be needed to meet the demand of professional workers who expect a highly-trained and skilled workforce.
Major shifts in society led by economic necessity, changing family structures and a refusal to make lifestyle compromises are said to be behind the trend.
Research published last week shows the proportion of children living with one parent has trebled since 1972 to a quarter of the total – or three million.
Meanwhile, the average price of a house nationally has risen from #83,000 in March 2000 to #194,362 last month, according to Halifax. The cost of gas has gone up 64 per cent since 2003 and electricity by 45 per cent. Private school fees have risen by 43 per cent since the start of this century.
Pauline Austin, head of Birmingham’s Childcare Information Bureau, said: "There are more women going back into work than ever. There is a great increase in the number of single parent households and there is a Government drive to increase the number of people using formal childcare.
"It is modern society. The average age of a single parent is now 34 rather than the stereotypical image of teenage pregnancy. Where couples are together there is a greater demand for both parents to work – you have high mortgages and big student loans to pay off."
According to Government’s Children Workforce Development Council (CWDC), an extra two million childcare places will be needed by the end of the decade nationally. A major recruitment and training drive has been launched in the West Midlands by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which is responsible for adult education.
Bryan Tytherleigh, director of the CWDC: "Our strategy is to have a graduate-led workforce. The leadership of graduates is fundamental to the step change. It’s not just about implementing good practice but leading others in good practice as well.
"The challenge is to provide a framework, stepping stones to opportunity – with qualifications that are widely recognised by employers so that people can progress smoothly through their career."
Michele Dunn, who is responsible for developing the childcare workforce in the West Midlands for the LSC, said: "It is people wanting to go to work for economic reasons while they have children. It is more acceptable for mothers to be back at work whereas many years ago it was a different sort of society where mothers had more opportunity to stay at home."
Ms Dunn said the sector needed to provide a more professionalised workforce.
