Early Childhood Educator as a Career 

Don’t want a desk job? Enjoy being with children? Enjoy being able to be outdoors? Want to make a difference? Do you want a career that is both rewarding and challenging?

 What Do Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) Do?

ECEs are the cornerstone to optimal child development and early learning. They are experts in early childhood education and child development.  ECEs plan, organize and implement exciting programs for children between the ages of birth up to 13 years old. An ECE’s career encompasses but is not limited to the following:

• Provide a daily balance of age appropriate active/quiet, indoor/outdoor, and individual/group activities
• Ensure that all children are always supervised
• Build children’s self-esteem through positive guidance and nurturing
• Organize space, equipment, and materials to foster optimal development
• Assist children in expressing themselves by listening and responding with questions or comments that extend conversations
• Use a variety of techniques including modelling, observing, questioning, demonstrating, and reinforcing
• Participate in professional learning opportunities and reflective practice
• Work well with other colleagues, being a team
• Plan and implement experiences that meet the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social needs of the children they care for
• Provide an environment that encourages parent participation, communicate with parents, and discuss their children’s development
• Adapt daily routines to meet the interest and developmental needs of the individual child and the group

 

As an Early Childhood Educator Can I Find Work?  Where Can I Work?

ECEs are in high demand across the province and country. Employment opportunities depend on the amount of Post-Secondary Education that the individual holds. Those seeking a career in ECE have opportunities to work in the following areas:

- Regulated child care centres as centre staff, ratio enhancement, lead staff or administrator of a centre
- Regulated Family Child Care where you provide care for children in your own home
- Pre-K programs
- Family Resource Programs
- Recreational Programs
- Agencies that provide services for children
- Student Assistants in the public school system
- Teacher Learning Assistants in the public school system
- Child Care Consultants within the Regional Health Authority
- Program Consultants within the Department of Education
- ECE Instructors at Post-Secondary Institutions

 

As an Early Childhood Educator How Much Will I Earn? 

There is a provincial wage grid for all Early Childhood Educators who are employed by provincially funded regulated child care centres.

*Data in this table is based on working 7.5 hours per day for 261 days per year.

For more information regarding the Provincial ECE Wage Grid can be found on the Department of Education’s website: https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/childcare/childcareresources/early-childhood-educator-wage-grid/

The Department of Education, Division of Early Learning and Child Development is pleased to announce the Family Home Certification Incentive. This program replaces the ELCC Supplement Program for Family Child Care Service Providers. This FHCI is available to regulated Family Child Care Service Providers participating in the Family Child Care Operating Grant Program (FCC OGP). 

More information regarding the Family Home Certification Incentive can be found on the Department of Education’s website: https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/files/FAQ-Family-Home-Certification-Incentive-2024.pdf 

 

How do I become a qualified Early Childhood Educator?

There are three provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institutions that offer the ECE program in NL

• College of the North Atlantic offers the ECE Program as a Certificate and Diploma via daytime classroom studies and as online studies as well they have an Advanced Diploma in ECE Administration and Leadership and an ECE Associate Degree Progam.
  • Daytime program; https://www.cna.nl.ca/program/early-childhood-education
  • Online program: https://dls.cna.nl.ca/ece/index.shtml


• Keyin College offers the ECE Certificate and Diploma via daytime classroom/online studies.
  • Daytime/Online program: https://keyin.ca/program/early-childhood-education/


• Academy Canada offers the ECE Certificate and Diploma via daytime classroom studies.
  • Daytime/Online program: https://www.academycanada.com/faculty-of-health-  and-personal-care/early-childhood-education/ 

 

There are financial resources for people who want to become a qualified Early Childhood Educator

Currently the Department of Education is offering various financial incentives to encourage individuals to join the early learning and child care (ELCC) sector. 

Please visit Bursaries/Grants/Benefits for more details.

ECE Needs-based Incentive Grant

• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to enhancing early childhood education in the Province. As part of its strategy, StudentAidNL introduced the ECE Needs-based Incentive Grant. The ECE Needs-based Incentive Grant will provide up to $10,000 per study period to eligible students to meet their unmet financial need after existing student financial assistance is exhausted. Funding will be available to students for the 2025-26 program year (i.e., August 1, 2025 through to July 31, 2026). For more information, please visit https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/studentaid/full-time-students/assistance-available/#ECE

 

Early Childhood Education Grants

• Early Childhood Education Grants: StudentAidNL will notify students if they meet the eligibility requirements. If a student qualifies, StudentAidNL will forgive the outstanding balance of the provincial loan borrowed while they were studying Early Childhood Education by converting it into a non-repayable grant upon confirmation that the student has met all requirements. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/studentaid/repay/nl-debt-relief/#early

There are several very affordable options to complete your education to become a qualified ECE, the options below are only a few of the ways that you can achieve your ECE credentials.

You have the option to complete your ECE 1 year Certificate during the day by attending a provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institution that offers an ECE Certificate program, once completed you can apply for Level One Certification, work in the field of ELCC and be eligible to receive the Level One salary according to the wage grid. 

You can complete your 2-year ECE Diploma during the day by attending a provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institution that offers an ECE program. After completion apply for the ECE Graduate bursary and receive up to $7500. As an ECE Diploma graduate you can then apply for Level Two Certification and work in the field of ELCC and be eligible to receive the Level Two salary according to the wage grid. You may be eligible to receive the Early Childhood Education Needs-Based Incentive Grant that provides eligible students in approved programs with non-repayable grants.

Another way to become a qualified ECE is to be certified as a Trainee through AECENL (by completing an orientation course) and then work part-time or full-time in a regulated child care setting while you complete your 1 year ECE Certificate courses through a provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institution that offers an online ECE program. As a Trainee you can be eligible to receive $250 for each successfully completed ECE Certificate courses from a provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institution.  Once you complete your 1-year ECE Certificate you can then upgrade your certification to Level One and be eligible to receive the Level One salary according to the wage grid with the option to continue your education to earn your 2-year ECE Diploma from a provincially recognized Post-Secondary Institution.  When you complete your ECE Diploma you can apply for the ECE Graduate bursary and be eligible to receive $7500 minus any money received through other training initiatives such as the ECE Trainee Bursary.  As an ECE Diploma graduate you can upgrade to Level Two Certification and be eligible to receive the Level Two salary according to the wage grid.

It should be noted that there are now also ways to upgrade your Certification Levels within the province, for example, by completing the Advanced Diploma in ECE Administration and Leadership from the College of the North Atlantic you could be eligible to apply for Level Three Certification, and by completing the Associate Degree in ECE from the College of the North Atlantic you could be eligible to apply for Level Four Certification. By upgrading your Post-Secondary Education in ECE you can be eligible to upgrade your Certification Levels which means you will have more career opportunities.

Information on Certification can be found here on our website:
https://aecenl.ca/index.php/certification

Information on Bursaries/Grants can be found here on our website:
https://aecenl.ca/index.php/bursariesgrants

Information about AECENL’s Orientation Courses can be on our website: https://aecenl.ca/index.php/certification/orientation-courses

For more information on becoming an ECE please visit the Department of Education’s website:
https://www.childcare.gov.nl.ca/

or contact AECENL's Navigator: 
Email: navigator@aecenl.ca
Phone: (709) 579-3028

 

In the resource section on this page there is a visual document called the Educational and Certification Pathway to Becoming an ECE in NL.  The document is a visual depiction of the training/certification journey of becoming a qualified ECE in our province. This visual was created collaboratively during the Early Childhood Education Lab project with NouLAB which was funded by the Future Skills Centre.