Young boys as “Play Resources" in ECECs – an innovative recruitment initiative

Several counties have initiated similar projects after this model. 

QMUC, the County Governor of Oppland, The Centre for Equality and Eastern Norway Research Institute have received funding to evaluate and further develop these projects.
  
The project, named Young boys as “Play Resources" in ECECs – an innovative recruitment initiative, has several purposes. The main goals are:

• To identify which factors are needed to recruit men to work in ECEC, how to improve the recruitment process and how to reduce the number of men who resign from jobs in the ECEC-sector.
• To further develop (an already well established) recruitment practice for men to work in ECEC.
  
  Some of the sub-projects
• To study, develop and initiate a new way of organizing the recruitment- and competence strategies within ECEC
• To contribute to an increase of men permanently employed in ECEC
• To increase the status of working in ECEC
• To reduce the number of boys who drop out from Upper Secondary Education 

The ECEC institutions who have participated in the projects experience that their young employees are very satisfied with the work. Also the County Governors and the participating municipalities that finance the local projects, are very pleased with the results.

Lecturer/Project Developer Kari Emilsen from QMUC is participating in the innovation project. She says that it is a meaningful project that gathers a lot of useful information.

- The project is very important, there is a great need for research on men in ECECs and recruitment of men to work in this field. Also the project enables us to work closely with the practice field itself.