Australia currently sits at number 23 in the global innovation index, but investment in education is still an area that hasn’t been fully explored by the country’s entrepreneurs and business leaders. With a high demand for quality early childhood education throughout Australia, franchisees have the opportunity to capitalise by investing in Australia’s $2bn pre-school industry.

Education isn’t just a business opportunity, but a chance to play a part in improving the lives of the next generation of Australians. Business owners can customise their operations to the community’s needs, and design a school that helps shape their local area’s future for the better.

The demand for education is growing

Australia’s population growth has increased and as a result domestic demand for education and training, and the industry itself, has expanded at a faster rate than the population over the past five years. The preschool industry alone is a $2bn market, with roughly 5,000 businesses and 15,000 people employed according to IBISWorld. 

A rise in federal government funding to states and territories for providing preschool services has significantly boosted revenue over most of the past five-year period, with the upwards trend expected to continue.

As announced in the May 2021 federal budget, the government will be adding $1.7bn over three years to the money already budgeted for childcare, which now sits at $10.3bn a year.

The trend is continuing worldwide, with education sectors around the globe poised for major growth in the years to come. Economic growth and demographic changes, particularly the rise of dual-income, middle-class nuclear families and the increase of population in urban areas, continues to intensify the need for education.

Educational networks, such as the Canadian-born Maple Bear Global Schools, are popping up around Australia to fill the gap and the plan is to have at least five centres preparing to open in the next two years.

Investing in a bilingual education

Bilingual education is the use of two different languages in the classroom instruction of academic content. The benefits of bilingual education are extensive. From learning to read sooner, to an increased sense of self-worth and identity, better concentration and analytical skills to being able to efficiently multitask. 

Exposure to more than one culture also gives children a global perspective and later in life, it can open up opportunities to live abroad and learn other foreign languages. Young learners have also been shown to have better concentration, analytical skills and multitasking capabilities, and learn to read sooner than monolingual students. 

Bilingual students also have an increased sense of self-worth and identity, and enjoy exposure to more than one culture which leads to a global perspective. Recent studies have even shown that bilingual education may guard against cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s. 

The demand for high-quality bilingual education is increasing as more parents achieve the economic means to give their children a head start in life. In Australia, where English is the primary language spoken, educational networks such as Maple Bear are designed as immersion programs, while still supporting local language requirements.

Centres will have the option to choose the second language they would like children to be educated in based on the community and cultures in that area or centre.

This gives potential owners a unique opportunity to open a centre in an area with a large population of immigrants who, while wanting their children to be fluent in English, may also wish for them to maintain a connection to their culture. 

Investing in education is critical to fostering growth and innovation for generations to come. It puts people on a path towards good health, empowerment and employment, and ultimately, builds better societies.

Education can make a lasting difference in children’s lives and is a powerful investment in the future. Education is not only good for children; it’s an investment in a country’s future. 

• Maple Bear is a global network of 500 schools and is fielding inquiries for sites in Sydney, the Central Coast, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.