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Kootenay Employment Services has teamed up with WorkBC in East Kootenay to offer a specialized self-employment program focused specifically on opening a home-based or facility-based childcare business with the help of the Blossom and Bud childcare team
With many parents unable to access licenced childcare, Kootenay Employment Services is partnering with WorkBC to trial a pilot program for anyone who wants to open their own childcare space.
This program is a supported and tailored opportunity to assist you in creating a viable business within your community.
With support from Kootenay Employment Services own childcare facility Blossom and Bud, you’ll gain access to specialized workshops; additional workshops will be provided by various community partners, institutions and colleges.
This pilot program provides the certifications and information to plan and start offering childcare services.
We qualify and assess your eligibility for financial support, to assist with household expenses or business costs to assist you on your journey.
With access to dedicated workshops and training programs made for the childcare industry, you’ll gain knowledge and confidence in the field.
You won’t be on your own with business coaching
to guide and assist you within your first year of business.
Providing assisted access and application to grants like the “BC Start-Up Grant” that supports new businesses in B.C. communities.
At present, in Cranbrook, there are:
• Only 288 licensed childcare spaces to meet the needs of 975 children under the age of 4.
• Only 125 licensed spaces for 1105 school-aged children between ages 5-9, leaving 908 children without after-school care.
At present, in Creston, there are only 12 spaces for children under 3 years old. There are 180 children under the age of 4 (Census 2016). This means that approximately 8% of the children needing care will get a spot. Less than 8% of our families with young children will be able to enter the workforce.
At the time of the Early Years Story report created in 2019,
there were only 85 childcare spots for 435 children.
At present in Fernie, while there were 51 new spaces opened in 2021
with the assistance of provincial government funding, there is a
continued need for licensed spaces, especially for children under
3 years of age.
This team of qualified individuals and industry experts is here to assist you on your journey.
Minimum 19 years of age
Resident of BC
Desire to provide childcare
Criminal Record Check
Land Acknowledgement
Kootenay Employment Services and our employees are committed to the continuous understanding of truth and reconciliation. We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded traditional and current territories of the Ktunaxa Nation, including the Yaqan Nu?kiy,ʔaq̓am, Yaqit ?a’Knuqǂi’it, and ʔakisq̓nuk as well as the Shuswap Band. Unceded means that the land was never agreed to be signed away.