Workforce strategy
Imagine a community where every child thrives, supported by dedicated early childhood professionals. At Peel Region, we are committed to strengthening and sustaining our early years and child care workforce.
To achieve this, we will:
- Retain child care workers by improving wages and working conditions.
- Enhance professional development through training and career growth opportunities.
- Increase qualified child care professionals with targeted recruitment efforts.
- Attract a diverse workforce that reflects the children and families we serve.
With one-time funding from the Government of Canada and the Ontario government, we launched new initiatives to recruit and retain high-quality child care workers. Our approach is guided by 5 key principles:
- Valuing educators and recognizing their contributions.
- Building a reliable, growing system to meet workforce needs.
- Supporting career growth to nurture and retain talent.
- Advocating and partnering for stronger policies and investments.
- Measuring impact to ensure continuous improvement.
These efforts help create a stable, diverse, and well supported workforce, ensuring quality early years and child care programs for families in Peel.
Appreciating early childhood professionals in Peel
Peel Region acknowledges the dedication of early childhood professionals working in licensed child care, EarlyON Child and Family Centres and Peel Inclusion Resource Services. They help our children and families learn, play, and grow in safe and welcoming spaces and play a vital role in building a community for life.
Every October, Peel Region recognizes the efforts of our early childhood professionals and is proud to celebrate the Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day.
2023 thank you to early childhood professionals
Early childhood professionals support children, families, and our economy
Every day, early childhood professionals provide our children with safe, responsive, and caring interactions that build a strong foundation for their development and well-being.
Children who participate in high-quality learning environments have higher verbal communication, reading, math, and science skills. Learn more
As the need for early childhood professionals continues to grow, job opportunities for individuals looking for a rewarding career are also increasing.
Early childhood professionals can work in several settings. These include:
- Licensed centred-based child care.
- Licensed home child care.
- Peel Inclusion Resource Services (PIRS).
- EarlyON Child and Family Centres.
Post-secondary pathway
To qualify as a registered early childhood educator, you must meet the education requirements of the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) by completing an early childhood education diploma from an Ontario college.
Post-secondary school ECE diploma programs in the Greater Toronto Area:
- Centennial College
- Durham College
- George Brown College
- Humber Polytechnic
- Mothercraft College
- Seneca Polytechnic
- Sheridan College
You can also access a full list of colleges offering an ECE diploma.
After earning your ECE diploma you must register and become a member of the College of Early Childhood Educators.
The College of Early Childhood Educators may also recognize education or work experience not obtained from an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology. For more information, refer to the Application Guide for the Individual Assessment of Educational Qualifications.
High school pathway
If you are a high school student who is passionate about teaching and shaping children's minds, a career as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE) could be the right path for you.
To begin your pathway, you may:
- Speak to your guidance counsellor or teachers about your goals.
- Use education and career planning tools, such as myBlueprint, to support your academic and career exploration.
- Participate in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and become a Child Development Practitioner apprentice while earning credits towards your secondary school diploma.
Learn more about the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) and how they support the profession.
Early years professional pathway
There are many opportunities to upgrade your knowledge, experience and credentials such as:
The Qualifications Upgrade Program offers financial assistance to individuals already working in child care or early years programs to complete their ECE diploma and advance their careers in early childhood education.
This financial grant helps students cover the cost of:
- Tuition
- Travel
- Living expenses
- Membership fees
It also offers financial assistance to early years and child care professionals to help them complete leadership certifications such as the Leadership Micro-Credential program from Sheridan College.
Apprenticeship pathway
Become a Child Development Practitioner (CDP) through an apprenticeship training program with on-the-job and in-school training. The program combines on-the-job experience with academic training though an apprenticeship framework.
Graduates will receive a CDP Apprenticeship Certificate from Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
The CDP Apprenticeship Program is designed for:
- Individuals currently working in early years roles seeking to upgrade their credentials.
- Those exploring a new career in early childhood education.
- Learners experiencing financial barriers.
- Those looking for a paced and flexible learning model.
Professional learning and development for ECEs
The Child Development Resource Connection Peel offers high-quality, diverse, and responsive professional learning for Peel’s early childhood professionals. They offer engaging, relevant, and informative in-person, virtual, and pre-recorded learning sessions to educate professionals about the best care and practices for the children and families in Peel region.
Licensed home child care provider pathway
Licensed home child care providers can support children and families within your community while enjoying the flexibility of setting your own hours. Home child care agencies are licenced by the Ministry of Education to work with home business entrepreneurs to create child care programs.
If you live in Peel and are ready to start your own home child care business, review the list of licensed home child care agencies that operate homes in Peel that we work with:
- Better Than Home
- Bright Future Childcare Services
- Building Opportunities Inc.
- Caring For Kids - Home Day Care
- Children's Learning Garden Home Licensing Agency
- ChildSPEC Licensed Home Daycare Services
- Daisy Blue
- Family Day Care Services
- Fun Time Day Care LHCC
- Kids Kare Home Day Care Agency Ltd.
- Kreative Kids PHDC
- Learning Happens Child Care Inc.
- RUMO Child Care Services
- Today's Family Private Home Day Care
- Wee Watch - Terrace Woods (Vaughan/Caledon)
- Wee Watch (Mississauga South) Enriched Home Day Care (Paulins)
- Wee Watch Enriched Child Care - Brampton
- YMCA of Greater Toronto
Reasons to join these agencies as a home child care provider:
- Set your own hours to offer flexible child care hours in a home-setting.
- Access competitive compensation and provincial grant funding through agencies.
- Connect with families needing child care that aligns with your schedule and services.
- Receive guidance from home child care visitors to meet regulations under the Child Care and Early Years Act.
- Get administrative support to help manage your business.
If you wish to build a career as an early childhood professional, you can find job postings on the Child Development Resource Connection (CDRCP) Peel Community Job Bank.
For other services and support to enter the workforce, refer to Employment Ontario Peel.
Research and reports
We partnered with research partners to study and understand the early years and child care workforce better. Data collected from these studies will identify ways to address recruitment, retention, and growth in the early childhood workforce in Peel. Access the following reports:
- Centre-base workforce summary report, for information about the Sheridan College research.
- Knowing our numbers, for information from Early Childhood Education - Research Policy Action (formerly known as Better Child Care Education)
Diversity, equity, and inclusion in EarlyON
We’ve been working with EarlyON providers to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the EarlyON system.
This involves:
- Using community data for better program planning.
- Reaching out to families effectively.
- Enhancing DEI competency.
- Ensuring high-quality experiences in all EarlyON programs.
A final report outlines our DEI journey in EarlyON.
Early years and child care job fairs
We’re working with community partners to host annual job fairs.
These job fairs provide an opportunity for employers and job seekers to:
- Discuss early years and child care job opportunities in Peel.
- Share important information and resources about the sector.
You are the Reason – A day of learning for early years and child care professionals
On February 17, 2023, Peel Region hosted a virtual professional learning day for over 4,200 early childhood professionals. The day recognized the importance of their role in supporting children, families, and the community and motivated them to establish and achieve goals for their professional growth and learning.
Workforce strategy funding for Ontario early childhood education diploma programs
This initiative provided financial assistance and greater access to post-secondary education through fully funded tuition grants or reduced tuition to eligible domestic full-time students aspiring to become early childhood professionals. Peel Region partnered with the City of Toronto, Durham Region, Halton Region, and 7 Greater Toronto Area colleges (Centennial, Durham, George Brown, Humber, Sheridan, Seneca, and Mothercraft), to launch this initiative.
Onboarding new employees
Peel Region has created an online resource to onboard new individuals working in licensed child care and EarlyON Child and Family Centres.
The onboarding resources include:
- Introduction to Peel Region’s EYCC sector and programs.
- Onboarding checklists.
- Information about guidelines and community agencies that support programs and families.
For more information, access resources for onboarding new employees.
Peel Region is also exploring a mentorship pilot project to match new early childhood professionals with experienced staff to provide professional training and improve retention in the workforce. More information will be released as it becomes available.
Workforce Innovation Funding
Peel Region directly funds eligible child care providers to pilot innovative strategies and support expenses such as paid planning. This is to attract and retain eligible program staff working in licensed child care in Peel region.
In 2024, workforce innovation funding was also available for Peel region’s 7 EarlyON providers.
During that time, eligible initiatives for EarlyON providers included:
- Paid planning time
- Professional learning
ECE leadership micro-credential
Halton Region and Peel Region in partnership with Sheridan College launched a new Early Childhood Education Leadership Micro-Credential program in September 2023.
This program has been designed for aspiring or current early childhood education professionals in leadership roles. In this course, learners gain relevant administration, leadership skills, professionalism, and advocacy responsibilities.
Learners are required to complete 4 courses to obtain the micro-credential certificate.
Connecting to Careers in ECE
The early years and child care workforce strategy initiative aims to help 76 individuals from equity-deserving communities earn their ECE diploma.
It also offers comprehensive support such as:
- Fully funded tuition.
- Academic assistance.
- Job support.
We are collaborating with Humber College, Sheridan College, and Accessible Community Counselling and Employment Services on this initiative.
Peel – Niagara Early Childhood Education Program
The Peel – Niagara Early Childhood Education PACE program offers those currently working in the sector, fully funded tuition towards completing an ECE diploma program.
The online-asynchronous programs enable participants to earn a 2-year college diploma in Early Childhood Education while continuing to work in the child care sector.
Email us, if you have any questions about our Early Years and Child Care Workforce Strategy or recruitment and retention initiatives.