To help shape children’s lives, Alberta needs an estimated 7,000 to 9,500 more Early Childhood Educators (ECE) over the next 4 years to fill existing vacancies and new positions.
In order to give tomorrow's generation a great start, we need to recruit, train and certify new ECEs to staff up to 68,700 new licensed child care spaces that are expected to open by 2026. This is part of the $3.8 billion provincial-federal child care agreement.
A career as an Early Childhood Educator gives you the opportunity to grow your future in a high-demand field.
If you are looking to work in a licensed daycare, out-of-school care, preschool program, or as a provider operating under a licensed family day home agency, you are required to be certified. Within 6 months of employment, child care staff must be certified and cannot and must not have unsupervised access to children until they have met the core requirements, including being certified.
Requirements
Early Childhood Educators are required to follow the conduct requirements outlined in the Certification Guide for Early Childhood Educators. ECEs must report any current or ongoing investigation, charge, court hearing, trial, or conviction as identified in Appendix A of the Certification Guide.
Read the Certification Guide for Early Childhood Educators to learn all the requirements and processes to apply for and maintain certification under the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation, including:
new conduct requirements
changes to certification status
appeals
requests for reassessment processes
Use the Self-Disclosure Reporting Form (PDF, 84 KB) to meet the conduct requirements.
How to Apply
Before you apply for certification, read the Certification Guide for Early Childhood Educators to make sure you are eligible and understand all the steps. The guide includes information about the educational and language proficiency requirements.
Once you have read the guide, apply online using the Early Childhood Educator Certification Application.
After you Apply
After your application is assessed, the result will be sent to you by email and if you meet the certification requirements, a certificate will be delivered by mail.
Early childhood educator certification come in 3 levels:
Level 1 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Assistant)
Level 2 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Worker)
Level 3 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Supervisor)
Current certification processing time is 4 to 6 weeks.
If you believe your education qualifies for a higher level of certification, once you receive your certificate, you may request a reassessment by completing the Request for reassessment form (PDF, 90KB).
Include any additional information that might be useful for the reassessment, for example: course descriptions or an updated official transcript.
Contact
Connect with the Alberta Child Care Staff Certification Office:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays) Toll free: 1-800-661-9754 Email: cs.staffcertification@gov.ab.ca