Au pair demand surges following ECE budget cuts

Looming price hikes in daycare have seen parents seeking out more affordable childcare options. With the cost of daycare expected to rise by as much as $40 per week, following the 2010 budget cuts in early childhood care, home-based childcare is seen as an attractive option.
Cecilia Robinson, Managing Director of NZ’s largest Au Pair agency Au Pair Link, says that demand for Au Pairs has never been higher. “Our demand for Au Pairs has doubled since this time last year, as frustrated parents struggle to justify the cost of daycare.”
An Au Pair is a young person from abroad that is employed by a family to care for their children in return for a weekly wage, room and board.
Robinson says that in the past Au Pairs have been perceived as very expensive and not an option for middle-income families. “That is simply not true. As a live-in caregiver, an Au Pair is less than a third of the cost of a nanny”, says Robinson. “For families with multiple children, an Au Pair is far more affordable than daycare - most parents have no idea of that.”
An Au Pair also offers much more flexibility than out-of-home childcare centres - no more picking up and dropping off children at daycare or worrying about getting a babysitter at the last minute.
Robinson says that Au Pairs offer parents the best of both worlds. “An Au Pair is effectively like having an extra pair of hands in the home,” she says. “Not only does an Au Pair provide inhome dedicated childcare, they also give families the convenience of help around the home for only $240 a week (excluding PAYE tax).”
Each of the Au Pairs from the internationally recognised agency are competent in conversational English, trained in first aid and have on average 1300 hours of documented childcare experience. They have also been through a rigorous screening process – including police and medical record checks, references, a personal interview, English and personality tests.
“I think the biggest impact on parents is that their level of stress is reduced,” says Robinson.
“When you don’t have to worry about coming home from work, going to the supermarket, putting your children’s dinner on and doing the housework, life just becomes that little bit easier.”
Au Pair link is the only Au Pair agency in NZ that is licensed by the Ministry of Education as a home-based ECE provider.
Au Pair Link has offices in Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch and the Bay of Plenty.
For more information visit www.aupairlink.co.nz or call 0800 AU PAIR.