Backgrounder: Building a Strong, Mobile, and Sustainable Early Childhood Education Workforce

As part of the initiative to strengthen the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) workforce, a solicited call for proposals was issued to identify innovative solutions for addressing the challenges within the sector. The call was open from November 12, 2025, to December 19, 2025, inviting organizations to submit their plans for enhancing recruitment, retention, and training of ECEs. Following a comprehensive review process, the following three organizations were selected to work in partnership on this important initiative: Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF), and L’Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC).

About the funding organizations:

Colleges and Institutes Canada
Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is the national voice of Canada’s dynamic network of publicly funded colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and Indigenous Institutes of Education. By convening, mobilizing, and championing the sector, CICan amplifies the value and impact of its members to advance the priorities that matter most to Canadians. With more than 95% of Canadians living within 50 km of a CICan member institution, and through the extensive global reach of its network, CICan positions colleges and institutes as essential partners in addressing today’s most pressing challenges – both in Canada and around the world. 

Canadian Child Care Federation
The Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) is Canada’s leading bilingual national non-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing early learning and child care. With a membership of over 13,000, the CCCF brings together educators, providers, and policymakers to advocate for high-quality, inclusive, and accessible child care services. The CCCF addresses workforce challenges and promotes the well-being of children by providing resources, training, and initiatives that elevate the quality of education and care delivered to young children.

Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne
The Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) brings together postsecondary institutions serving Francophone minority communities across Canada. Its goal is to increase access to postsecondary education in French and to help establish a true continuum of French-language education across Canada. Under the ACUFC's umbrella are the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS), the Réseau national de formation en justice (RNFJ), the Réseau de la recherche sur la francophonie canadienne (RRF) and the Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada (RCCFC). Among its areas of work, the ACUFC supports the development and improvement of training programs and helps strengthen the skills and capacity of early childhood educators in Francophone minority communities through innovative initiatives and solutions aimed at addressing labour shortages.

The initiative will focus on developing and modernizing foundational workforce tools, including labour market information and occupational standards, to strengthen recruitment and retention and support labour mobility of ECEs. The project will support the following activities and achieve the following outcomes:

• Updating the National Occupational Standards for early childhood educators to ensure they reflect current competencies and evolving sector needs. The updated National Occupational Standards will improve labour mobility within the sector.
• Developing labour market information (LMI) to assess workforce supply and demand, identify persistent recruitment and retention challenges, and inform targeted workforce planning in the ELCC sector. The labour market information will be shared with provinces, territories, and the broader ECE ecosystem, helping them make informed policy decisions and investments.
• Designing and delivering mentorship programs and supports that strengthen skills development and promote meaningful knowledge transfer across the ECE workforce, resulting in improved retention and career advancement for ECEs.
• Promoting information on career pathways toward certification, including education and training requirements, credential recognition, and progression opportunities, to empower current and prospective ECEs and enhance labour mobility.

These organizations, through their collaborative efforts funded by the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, are committed to enhancing the recruitment, retention, and training of early childhood educators, ultimately contributing to improved access to high-quality early childhood education for families across Canada.