Early Childhood Educators
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Job description
These individuals support young children in their learning. They design, organize, and lead activities that stimulate their intellectual, physical, and emotional development. They also ensure their safety and well-being. This group includes supervisors. They work in:
- Early childhood centres (CPE)
- Daycare centres
- Kindergartens
- Organizations for children in difficulty
- Maisons de la famille (service centres for family issues)
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Climatic conditions
Main tasks
Early Childhood Educators
- Develop education programs that promote the overall development of children.
- Lead children in various activities (art, music, physical activity, culture, etc.).
- Organize activities for school-aged children who use the before and after-school child care service.
- Plan and maintain an environment that ensures the health, safety, and well-being of children.
- Assess children’s abilities, skills, interests, and needs and prepare reports.
- Discuss children’s progress or problems with their parents/guardians and other staff.
- Help children develop good eating, toileting, and dressing habits.
- Collaborate with service providers.
- Supervise and coordinate staff.
Early Childhood Educator Assistants
- Support educators in implementing programs aimed at the overall development of children.
- Facilitate various activities (e.g. storytelling).
- Prepare and serve snacks.
- Set up rooms and furniture for dinner and naps.
- Help children develop good eating, toileting, and dressing habits.
- Record observations about the children and give them to the educators.
- Maintain daycare equipment and assist with household chores and cooking.
- Discuss the children’s progress and difficulties with other staff members.
- Assist staff and supervisors with record keeping, as required.
Advancement and mobility
- Several years of experience lead to pedagogical advisor and supervision positions.
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $17.97
- Median
- $24.00
- Maximum
- $30.03
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
All of Québec
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
All of Québec
Gender distribution
All of Québec
- 96.3% Female
- 3.7% Male
- 96.3% Female
- 3.7% Male
Job types
All of Québec
- Full time
- Part time
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
-
NAICS 62469% of jobs
-
NAICS 6127% of jobs
-
NAICS 621, 622, 6231% of jobs
-
NAICS 811% of jobs
-
NAICS 55, 560% of jobs
-
Others2% of jobs
All of Québec
-
NAICS 62469% of jobs
-
NAICS 6127% of jobs
-
NAICS 621, 622, 6231% of jobs
-
NAICS 811% of jobs
-
NAICS 55, 560% of jobs
-
Others2% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
Secondary
College
ACS in techniques d'éducation à l'enfance
Placement rate: 85.4%
12.2% of graduates pursue further studies
ACS in techniques d'éducation à l'enfance
Placement rate: 81.1%
10.8% of graduates pursue further studies
DCS in techniques d'éducation spécialisée
Placement rate: 79.7%
17.5% of graduates pursue further studies
Also required
Early Childhood Educator Assistants
- Experience with children.
Sometimes required
- Training in emergency first aid and CPR (Child Care) may be required.
- Early Childhood Educator designation (with a college diploma in Early Childhood Education or recognized equivalency) may be required or an asset.
- Paid training leading to an Attestation of College Studies (ACS) in Early Childhood Education may be available to individuals who are employed by or have applied for a job at an early childhood centre or educational daycare.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Oral expression
- Learning strategies
- Teaching
- Active listening
- Coordination
- Social perception
- Critical thought
- Data collection
- Reading comprehension
- Result evaluation
- Service oriented
- Active learning
- Time management
- Judgment and decision-making
- Written expression
- Persuasion
- Solving complex problems
Abilities
- Verbal skills
- Awareness of issues
- Speech clarity
- Oral comprehension
- Originality
- Speech recognition
- Information organization
- Written comprehension
- Deductive reasoning
- Idea generation
- Written expression
- Inductive reasoning
- Near vision
- Classification
- Time sharing
- Selective attention
- Distance vision
- Information processing speed
- Processing flexibility
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
- Capacity to adapt
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Capacity to work in a team
- Vitality
- Creativity
- Friendliness
- Pedagogical knowledge
- Capacity to facilitate a group
- Open-mindedness
Interests
- Create, design
- Teach or educate
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Artistic
- People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
Official name of the NOC 42202
Early childhood educators and assistants
Job titles
- Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Assistants
- Daycare teacher
- Early childhood educator - junior kindergarten
- Early childhood educator (ece)
- Early childhood educator - kindergarten
- Early childhood program staff assistant
- Preschool helper
- Daycare aide
- Nursery school aide
- Early childhood educator assistant - kindergarten
- Early childhood educator assistant - junior kindergarten
- Baby-care worker assistant
- Child care worker assistant
- Early childhood assistant
- Daycare coordinator
- Baby-care worker
- Daycare attendant
- Preschool supervisor
- Baby-care workers supervisor
- Daycare supervisor
- Early childhood program supervisor
- Early childhood supervisor
- Child care worker - daycare
- Daycare worker
- Early childhood education worker
Skill type
Education, law and social, community and government services
Last update: January 29, 2026