OECD - Good Practice for Good Jobs in Early Childhood Education and Care

Countries must engage in efforts to improve the status and attractiveness of ECEC as a career. Options for doing so include increasing qualification requirements for staff in at least some roles, running information campaigns, and improving wages. Where constrained by limited resources, countries may want to consider targeting wage increases at staff with particular characteristics and/or using wage increases to help achieve other strategic objectives, such as improving staff qualification levels.

Countries looking to build a high-quality workforce also need to engage in efforts to boost staff qualifications. Raising minimum qualification requirements is one option, but does have downsides. To avoid short-term bottlenecks in the supply of qualified new entrants, countries may want to consider staggering the introduction of new minimum requirements or targeting requirement increases at staff in certain roles (e.g. centre leaders).

Pre-service education and training systems should be accessible. Countries should ensure alternative entry pathways are in place for talented potential workers unwilling or unable to undergo lengthy pre-service training. This includes, for instance, entry routes for university graduates with degrees in unrelated fields and older workers with relevant professional experience from outside of ECEC (e.g. nurses, care workers). Countries may also want to consider providing students with financial support during pre-service training in ECEC.

Practice as well as theory is important in pre-service training. Different countries place different emphasis on the role of practical experience in pre-service training. Countries without extensive practical placement schemes should consider expanding the role of practical experience and workplace-based learning in their pre-service training programmes.

To promote quality and improve the supply of potential workers, countries should engage in stronger efforts to bring men into ECEC. Measures to improve the status of ECEC in general will help, but countries should also consider engaging in information and recruitment campaigns. Norway has found some success in using affirmative action in the hiring process, though such policies should serve only as a temporary measure in the transition to a more gender-balanced workforce.