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The stark issues affecting the recruitment of essential education and healthcare workers - as well as others - have been highlighted in two separate ways over the past week.
The RCM report on local midwifery services (published last Friday) highlighted accommodation as an issue for those working in Health and Social Care in Guernsey, while ESC told a Scrutiny panel this week that a lack of housing could make Guernsey “unattractive” when trying to recruit teachers from further afield.
This comes against the backdrop of a 47.5% increase in rental prices over the past five years, and a 40% increase in the average purchase price of a home.
Last week, the Royal College of Midwives released its annual report, covering concerns it has for local services along with staunch praise of them HERE. One of the big ticket items that was brought up was this issue of housing.
The report states that there’s a major concern over the number of midwives locally, with calls for work to be done on understanding how more can be persuaded to stay.
"Guernsey does not train its own midwives, so every midwife working locally is either an island resident who trained elsewhere and returned home, or is someone who has been drawn to the island," wrote the report's authors.
The report goes on to point to the housing crisis as one potential reason: “Guernsey is an expensive place to live. Childcare is very expensive and rental opportunities are limited for those with children and pets.
Pictured: The RCM 2024 report found concerns over demographic changes, but was full of praise for Deputies who've pushed for more funding.
"Three-quarters of those who have left the island’s midwifery workforce in the five years to March 2024 did so after working as a midwife locally for five years or less, while 85% of those who left did so after less than a decade.
“While it is good for there to be some rotation in the workforce, bringing new perspectives and fresh learning into the service, it may be helpful to give some time to understand better why midwives may choose to leave the island and what measures might be put in place to retain experienced staff."
During a two-hour public Scrutiny hearing on Monday, housing was touched on during a brief interaction between Deputy John Dyke and Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen.
Deputy Dyke, sitting on the Scrutiny panel, asked the President of Education, Sport and Culture about accommodation for teachers, and whether or not it was a cause for concern.
Deputy Dudley-Owen replied: “Accommodation is really challenging on-island, and we're going through one of those cycles of squeeze. In fact, a lot of work is done, and that was reported into committee not too long ago about the detail behind that support that is given to relocate to the island to find accommodation.
“Invariably, these are challenges of the cost of living, and the cost of accommodation on Island, and it has to be seen as a factor that might make us less attractive."
Pictured: Deputies and Civil Servants from ESC at this weeks Scrutiny Management Meeting.
This line of questioning came just days after ESC had to respond to Rule 14 Questions on Class Sizes and the discrepancies between them, as well as how some teachers are having to work across multiple school sites, amid wider concerns about recruitment and retention of staff.
RCM praises support from States, but raise concerns over “demographic” changes
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