Job prospects Early Childhood Educator Assistant in Ontario

Job opportunities in Ontario

The employment outlook will be good for Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 4214) in Ontario for the 2021-2023 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• The majority are employed in child day-care services
• Elementary schools.

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• As restrictions ease and families return to work, employment opportunities for early childhood educators and assistants are expected to improve
• Generally, steady opportunities as more parents participate in the workforce
• Public sector investments in the child care system.

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• The College of Early Childhood Educators regulates early childhood educators in Ontario
  • Only registered members of the College can practise the profession and use the protected titles “registered early childhood educator” (RECE), or “early childhood educator” (ECE)
• For early childhood assistants, there are two voluntary skilled trades available, namely, Child Development Practitioner, and Aboriginal Child Development Practitioner^,
• Valid First Aid and infant and child Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certificates are usually required.

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Early childhood educators and assistants may be required to work split shifts
• Some positions will be for individuals to work on call
• There will be fewer job opportunities in the education sector during the summer months.

Here are some key facts about Early childhood educators and assistants in the Ontario region:

• Approximately 81,300 people work in this occupation.
• Early childhood educators and assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 71%
  • Elementary and secondary schools (NAICS 6111): 23%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 72% compared to 79% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 28% compared to 21% for all occupations
• 46% of early childhood educators and assistants work all year, while 54% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 32 weeks compared to 31 weeks for all occupations.
• 6% of early childhood educators and assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Location	Job prospects
Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula Region	Good Good
Kingston–Pembroke Region	Fair Fair
Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie Region	Good Good
London Region	Fair Fair
Muskoka–Kawarthas Region	Fair Fair
Northeast Region	Fair Fair
Northwest Region	Fair Fair
Ottawa Region	Good Good
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula Region	Fair Fair
Toronto Region	Good Good
Windsor-Sarnia Region	Fair Fair

Legend: The job opportunities can be: Undetermined Limited Fair Good

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

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Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

We expect that the labour supply and demand for Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 4214) will be balanced in Canada over the next 10 years.

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