Guest ContributorArizona’s child care offerings will soon acquire an international touch as Busy Bees, a U.K.-based company, opens its inaugural U.S. facility in Goodyear, marking the first of eight planned locations in the state.
The new Goodyear location at Litchfield and Van Buren will be more 13,000 square-feet with space for learning and activities. Goodyear Mayor Joe Pizzillo, councilmembers and other dignitaries were on hand for the October 12 groundbreaking.
Each facility will employ about 50 people, creating new jobs and new options for working parents amid a child care availability crunch in Arizona and nationally that is increasingly becoming a concern for employers.
According to “Untapped Potential: How Childcare Impacts Arizona’s Workforce Productivity and the State Economy,” released in 2021 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Arizona’s estimated annual loss due to child care issues is $1.77 billion. That includes $1.42 billion for the cost of employee absence and turnover costs and $348 million in estimated losses in tax revenue.
The report also revealed that employers are starting to see child care as a bigger issue for their workforce. One in 3 employers surveyed said that a lack of childcare was “a great deal responsible” for employees’ reduced productivity.
Co-founded by Marg Randles, Busy Bees opened its first location in 1983 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Now headquartered in London, the chain has locations in the U.K., Ireland, Asia, and Canada.
The Goodyear location is just one of eight planned for Arizona, all of which are slated to open in 2024.
Joseph Kavetsky
Noemi Santaella
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