Thank you.
Hello, Mr. Chair, honourable members, dear colleagues, and observers.
On behalf of the Educacentre College board of directors, thank you for the invitation. My name is Yvon Laberge and I am the President of Educacentre College. I am pleased to introduce Ms. Isabelle Thibault, our Director of Studies.
Our presentation is divided into three main parts. First, we will discuss the importance of early childhood services in the development of francophone communities in British Columbia. Then we will talk about Educacentre College, and more specifically about the early childhood services we offer. We will then present our chief findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
Your topic of discussion, access to early childhood services in French, is very important if not essential to the development of the francophone community in British Columbia. Educacentre College does not offer services directly to children. True to our mission, we offer accredited training and professional development workshops for early childhood education workers. Our objective is thus to continually improve the quality of French-language daycare services.
Early childhood services are an essential part in the continuum of lifelong learning. We recognize that the early years of life are essential to the positive development of children. Our focus is on developing children's basic skills and, in view of the specific needs emerging in the francophone minority community, developing language skills and identity-building from the time of birth are crucial.
In view of the considerable increase in enrolment in francophone programs from kindergarten to grade 12, as well as the shortage of daycare centres and certified workers, Educacentre College contributes to the provision of quality services by training early childhood workers.