But some education assistants are blaming the shortage on poor working conditions — an issue, they say, more training programs won't solve. "I love working as an EA [education assistant], but there are definitely some issues that need to be addressed," said Shona Kelly who has worked as an education assistant in Burnaby for 20 years. Kelly is the shop steward for CUPE Local 379, the union representing education assistants. Kelly said solutions, like Burnaby's decision to train more education assistants, don't address the underlying problems with recruitment. But Kelly also has some worries the program is not long enough to be a permanent solution, compared to the schooling education assistants usually undergo.

Source: CBC News March 19, 2018 21:22 UTC