"Childcare Teachers' Vaccine Leave Made Comfortable" Seoul City Forms Substitute Teacher Workforce Pool

Establishing a Substitute Teacher Pool to Meet Increased Demand Due to Vaccination of Childcare Center Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 11th, Seoul City announced that it will form a substitute teacher workforce pool to minimize childcare gaps, allowing childcare teachers to comfortably take vaccine leave after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Seoul City will establish a substitute teacher workforce pool on the Seoul Childcare Portal to quickly and smoothly support substitute teachers in response to the increased demand for substitute teachers at daycare centers due to childcare staff receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

So far, when daycare childcare teachers took leave for annual leave, family events, sick leave, or training, substitute teachers hired by the Childcare Comprehensive Center were dispatched, or daycare centers were supported with labor costs when hiring directly, improving the working environment so childcare teachers could take leave comfortably.

However, in unexpected situations where childcare teachers urgently take leave, it has been difficult to find substitute teachers who can work immediately. Daycare centers have expressed difficulties to district offices and Childcare Comprehensive Centers, and childcare teachers had to worry until the day before their leave.

Going forward, by utilizing the ‘Substitute Teacher Workforce Pool’ established on the Seoul Childcare Portal, daycare centers can directly contact and hire substitute teachers who wish to seek employment even the day before.

Childcare professionals holding childcare teacher certificates who wish to work as substitute teachers can enter their related information into the ‘Substitute Teacher Workforce Pool.’ After registering as a member of the Seoul Childcare Portal, applicants apply through the substitute teacher workforce pool menu, entering basic information (name, contact), childcare teacher certification status, and desired work area. Seoul City plans to promote this through district offices, the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family (Childcare Service Support Center), Seoul Childcare Comprehensive Center, and daycare centers.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Childcare Portal was first established in 2009, currently serving 271,760 registered users, with an average of 8,450 daily visitors (3.34 million annual visitors), establishing itself as a representative childcare website providing major childcare policies and diverse childcare information in Seoul. The number of users increased from 10,095 in 2009 to 267,435 in 2020, a rise of 257,340, reflecting the portal’s increased utilization.

In particular, differentiated childcare services such as night extended childcare, hub-type extended night childcare, and 365 open daycare centers can be reserved in advance, allowing parents working night shifts to safely leave their children even late at night. Additionally, considering the difficulty of outdoor activities due to COVID-19, an online playroom is operated where children and parents can enjoy together at home, and various play-centered online educational materials are provided in connection with Seoul Imagination Land’s Imagination Online Play.

Seoul City plans to continuously improve the Seoul Childcare Portal so that childcare sites and parents can access more information more easily and quickly. In February, Seoul City established the nation’s first ‘Online Application for Night Childcare at Daycare Centers’ to allow parents to conveniently use night extended childcare services.

Kang Hee-eun, the childcare officer, said, “With the establishment of the Seoul Childcare Portal substitute teacher workforce pool, we expect to provide job opportunities for unemployed and career-interrupted childcare teachers, as well as childcare teachers from closed or temporarily closed daycare centers, and create an environment where childcare teachers can comfortably take leave.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.