Recall the survey findings done on the parents regarding priorities and preferences in the childcare industry. You’ll find that they were not as emphasized on the quality of child care as they were about the cost and availability. They also suggested the center to have complete security of their children rather than the most-known qualifications of the staff.
The government, on the other hand, is more inclined towards setting quality standards. Other than focusing on staff qualification, the government concentrated on the educational curriculum and practices. No doubt, they had parent's preferences in their priority list; those were still not on rank one from their perspective.
This is actually a conflict of the viewpoint that began. Let's take a look at the details of what conflicts of perspectives happened in the childcare industry in Australia.
The Conflicts of Perspectives
Formal and Informal Child Care
While the parents looked at informal child care as a substitute for the formal sector, the government perceived both of these sectors very differently. As the informal sector is available to many parents readily, they might not change their viewpoint based on this. In fact, sometimes the formal sector can prove to be even more practical for them. It's because of the flexibility that common factors provide them with accommodating their working hours.
The government took some steps forward in this area by providing subsidies to parents who were in a job or looking for one. The measure was to encourage them to choose the formal sector. Still, parents preferred the informal sector that resided around them.
The Topmost Priority
As mentioned above, parents were more inclined towards cost and availability. The government focused more on the educational curriculum and staff qualification. Both had a different viewpoint that could have led to the same direction. However, the top most priority was fancied by a high margin, which led to the conflict of views.
The Diversity in Preferences Among the Parents
The parents who wanted to admit their children in childcare services were also of different opinions in some cases. While around 50% of the parents what chose the formal sector, 20% of them we're still inclined towards the informal sector. The other 30% chose a combination of both.
Looking at the statistics, most of the government's focus was on the formal sector. However, still, some portion of parents were left overlooked. The government was not able to decide whether to implement a policy in favor of the formal sector or not. Accordingly, the marketing plan for child care centers got influenced.
Diversity in Working Hours
The working hours of the mothers were highly influenced by the availability of childcare. It proved to be significant considering the critical policy of many child care centers and the government subsidy. There was only little focus on accessibility.
The conflict here was to choose between affordability and availability. The more affordable childcare forced the parents to be a bit flexible in their working hours. Because every parent had different working hours, a single marketing strategy for the child care center did not work universally.
Should the government play a role in the informal sector?
It’s a big question. Till today, the case holds firm for the formal sector of the country. With the government subsidies, encouraging staff qualifications, and maximizing the educational background, the government stands strong behind these regulations. However, when it comes to the informal sector, they do not have a significant role.
In other words, we can say that they have not tried much into that aspect. So, what should the government do? First of all, government participation is very important. The workforce participation of government may be adequate, but it should extend even further. They should encourage the parents to work and be neutral about their choice of the sector.
Summing-up
The bottom line is that even though government interference has been adequate for the formal sector, it should hold the same for the informal sector. Many parents are undivided dependent on either one of them. Hence, it's also not right to entirely shift the focus.
Considering individual child care centers, they can relax as the formal sector is still strong enough to pull the preferences of most parents. Provided, they have their head high with effective child care Marketing Solutions among the competition.
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