Careers in Child Care

What qualities and qualifications do you need to be an Early Childhood Educator (ECE)?

An Early Childhood Educator (ECE) needs patience, energy, commitment, and knowledge about children's developmental levels and needs. An ECE needs to be warm and responsive, as well as enthusiastic about nurturing children's first steps to learning.

Anyone working in a licensed child care centre or nursery school must be classified by the Manitoba Child Care Program at one of three levels:

• Child Care Assistant (CCA);
• Early Childhood Educator II (ECE II); or,
• Early Childhood Educator III (ECE III).

Your education determines your classification level. CCAs do not have formal child care training or have not yet completed it. ECE IIs and ECE IIIs need to have approved post-secondary training in early childhood education. Generally an ECE II has an approved degree or diploma program in early childhood education. An ECE III has an approved degree or diploma plus an approved Continuing Education certificate. (Learn more on our Important Definitions page.)

Child care regulations in Manitoba specify the number of trained ECEs required to work in centres and nursery school. For example, two-thirds of all staff working in preschool child care centres must be ECE IIs or IIIs. This helps make the best possible early learning and care experiences for children by ensuring they are led by trained and professional ECEs.

Understanding child development is essential to the important work ECEs do to promote the healthy development and well-being of children. ECEs in Manitoba receive specific post-secondary training to help them understand children's development and needs. Their training also teaches them how to provide guidance and create appropriate and rich environments for children to explore.

Recent, early brain development research helps us understand how the first six years of life shape us in critical ways. In partnership with parents, ECEs have a major, positive impact on how happy and successful a child is in later life. They can also have a significant impact on how well the child will do as learning continues into primary school.

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