Thuringia: Record quota of skilled workers in daycare centers – pioneers in the federal government!

Thuringia: Record quota of skilled workers in daycare centers – pioneers in the federal government!

The current Bertelsmann study impressively shows that Thuringia is ahead in Germany when it comes to the proportion of educationally qualified specialists in daycare centers. In March 2024, the proportion of skilled workers in Thuringia was a remarkable 94 percent, while the national average is only 72 percent. Saxony follows in second place with 92 percent and Brandenburg scores 91 percent, while Bavaria brings up the rear with 54.5 percent. But in Bavaria, for data protection reasons, the data situation is only known for less than half of all districts, which makes comparison difficult.

It is interesting that the Sömmerda district, also in Thuringia, underlines its top position with a skilled worker quota of 94.3 percent. In contrast, the proportion of skilled workers in many other federal states decreased between 2017 and 2024, with Berlin particularly affected. Despite a slight decline in Thuringia, the regional differences there are small - comparable to Bremen and Bavaria. This stability in Thuringia could serve as a shining example for other federal states.

The importance of qualified specialists

The Bertelsmann Foundation emphasizes that the connection between the quota of skilled workers and the quality in daycare centers has been scientifically proven. Specialists such as social workers, educators and remedial educators are important for early childhood education and lay the foundation for children's development. In this context, experts are calling for uniform definitions of skilled worker status and continuous investments in the quality of early childhood education by the federal and state governments in order to improve the situation.

Another study by the Justus Liebig University of Giessen and the Bertelsmann Foundation shows alarming trends among daycare staff. Almost half of the employees surveyed felt overworked every day or almost every day. The perspective for younger employees is particularly dramatic: According to the surveys, the probability of leaving the job at short notice is significantly high for 26 to 30 year olds - for around a quarter it is even 80 percent or more.

Future of early childhood education

The thoughts of leaving the daycare center employees increase with the frequency of overload, which places increased stress on the remaining employees. Anette Stein from the Bertelsmann Foundation describes the situation as one of the biggest problems: “The exodus of staff leads to greater stress on the remaining staff and increases exodus” – a vicious circle that needs to be broken.

The catalog of measures to improve this situation includes, among other things, increasing the skilled worker quota to 85 percent in each daycare team in the long term. Unfortunately, the federal government has not yet taken these recommendations into account in the Kita Quality Act. It is crucial to provide reliably financed, professional advice and support for the daycare teams in order to attract new, well-trained staff and to further train the less qualified employees.

Overall, the situation in Thuringia shows that it is possible to set high standards in early childhood education. However, a joint effort by the federal, state and local governments is required to achieve similar successes in other federal states and to ensure the quality of education for the smallest members of our society.

So anyone who thinks that the challenges in the area of ​​early childhood education cannot be overcome should take a look at Thuringia. There we can learn what is necessary for a good daycare center: well-trained staff and suitable framework conditions.

Read more about the developments in the skilled worker quota in daycare centers stern.de, bertelsmann-stiftung.de and tagesspiegel.de.