“Entrepreneurship has always been part of my life. In between my various jobs, I have always had small businesses and activities. Ultimately, I fully entered entrepreneurship and have now been working in the childcare sector for more than eight years,” says Saskia Blackson. the True Time. She develops and coordinates the training courses of Svesa Opleidingen en Trainingen.
Text Tascha Aveloo
Image Svesa Education and Training
Already during her years of study at Anton de Kom University and also during her active career at several companies, she aspired to set up her own company. Childcare organization Svesa was founded from that practice. “Over the years, I have come to realize that there is not only a need for more childcare, but also for well-trained and motivated employees. I not only want to provide care for children, but also contribute to the development of the people who work with them.”
“What may be taken for granted at school has often been practiced for years and daily in childcare”
Understanding what a child needs
Svesa was founded in 2018 and provides training that meets what is really needed in the workplace. By the way, the company is not (yet) recognized or certified. A training course that is currently being provided is ‘Care of the child within childcare’. In addition, Svesa works with training and modules in the areas of management, quality and safety and other topics that are relevant for people who work in childcare or want to develop further in it.
Blackson: “For me, it is important that training is not just theoretical. After training, people must also be able to understand how to use what they have learned in the workplace. Anyone who works in the childcare sector can follow this training. For Svesa, care is more than just feeding, changing or putting a child to bed. An employee must understand what a child needs in terms of care, guidance, development and safety.”
The training lasts five months, including one month of internship. Blackson states that the course is a good opportunity to discover whether the field suits someone before they commit to it for a longer period of time. “We have consciously opted for a relatively short and practical process. We see that there are people who would like to work in childcare or retrain, but do not have the opportunity to follow years of training.”
Going to school
Svesa believes it is important that people realize that childcare is more than “just taking care of the children and feeding them”, because a child’s development does not only start when he or she goes to school. In childcare, for example, children learn to interact with others, communicate, become more independent, play together, carry out simple assignments, deal with boundaries and emotions and participate in a group. An employee therefore influences the development of a child every day.
You can keep it safe and provide food, but good quality childcare requires much more. “It’s about safety, care, structure, guidance, development and pedagogical action. That’s why I think it’s important that people who work in the sector also realize how much responsibility they actually bear.”
Good childcare is often an important learning environment outside the family. When a child goes to school later, the teacher can continue to build on those skills. The next phase will be easier when the foundation has been properly laid in the first phase. “And it is precisely that first phase that is an enormous challenge. A pedagogical employee works with children who still have to discover and learn a lot. That requires patience, knowledge, observation and consistent action. What may be taken for granted at school, has often been practiced for years and daily in childcare.”
Requirements
There are many childcare centers in Suriname, but what requirements should good childcare meet? “I advise parents not only to look at the price or how nice a daycare looks. Look especially at how children are treated. For example, how employees talk to them, whether the environment is safe and clean, whether the children are respected, how the communication with parents is and how nutrition, hygiene and safety are handled. It is also important whether a child is cheerful or happy when he or she is allowed to go to daycare.”
Blackson believes that childcare should be seen as a primary service. “Without childcare, many other sectors cannot function optimally. Parents must be able to work and employers need employees who can focus on their work.”
She therefore proposes that employers contribute to childcare for their employees. Regular childcare is not a solution, especially for people who work shifts and night shifts, weekends or irregular hours.
Responsible work
Another point that Blackson draws attention to is the position of childcare employees. “We often talk about the shortage of staff and the quality of childcare, but we also have to look at why some people only want to work in this sector for a short time? People who work in childcare are sometimes looked down upon.”
“I not only want to provide care for children, but also contribute to the development of the people who work with them”
Blackson is aware that many employees are relatively unskilled. “One of the reasons for this is that there is little prospect of growth and development. If someone sees that he/she cannot develop, cannot take on more responsibility or progress financially and professionally, it becomes difficult to retain people in the sector for a longer period of time. That is why I strongly believe in training, appreciation and career opportunities.”
An important message she conveys is that the childcare sector offers a huge opportunity in supporting the country’s development. “We have children who need good guidance, parents who need to be able to work and employers who need reliable employees. And we have people who are looking for work and an opportunity to develop themselves. These four things can reinforce each other. But for that we have to look at childcare more seriously. It is not babysitting work. It is work with responsibility,” Blackson concludes.
