By Shukry Rashid
Another 4,000 professionals in the Early Childhood Care and Education sector will be needed by 2020, said Minister of State (MOS) for Manpower Teo Ser Luck.
He was speaking at the launch of Workforce Singapore’s two new initiatives during the inaugural Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Leadership and HR (Human Resources) Conference.
The two initiatives are the Progressive HR Practices Early Adopter Programme (PHRPEAP) for ECCE operators, created in consultation with the Association of Early Childhood and Training Services, and the SkillsFuture Career Advisors Programme (SCAP), which was jointly developed with the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore).
Progressive HR
MOS Teo said that while preschools aggressively recruit talent, their HR and leadership also must be built.
“The programme [PHRPEAP] targets to help 100 ECCE operators enhance their HR and leadership capabilities as a competitive tool to attract and retain talent,” he explained.
To date, 22 ECCE operators have joined the programme.
Career Advisers
SCAP for ECCE is a new initiative for jobseekers under Adapt and Grow, and aims to build a pool of career advisers to assist jobseekers understand ECCE and the criteria and aptitude required.
There are currently 24 ECCE professionals who have volunteered as SCAP advisers. They comprise preschool leaders, preschool teachers and curriculum specialists.
The first SCAP for ECCE group advisory session and an employer networking event were also organised for 80 jobseekers during the conference, where more than 110 educator jobs in the ECCE sector were offered.
Education Services Union (ESU) Executive Secretary Ang Hin Kee said: “We are supportive of the new initiatives. They are aligned with ESU’s push to enhance sectoral retention, innovation and skills upgrading. We look forward to their effective implementation and for operators to adopt professional practices and pro-working people policies.”
Source: NTUC This Week
