Empower Early Learning

Accelerate Economies

Empower Early Learning, Accelerate Economies

At the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC), we believe that our children deserve the highest level of care and education, and we are committed to giving them the best possible start in life.

From their earliest ages, children absorb an astounding amount of information. This formative period demands close attention and exceptional care to support their physical, mental, and social development.

Learn how our Regulated Career Colleges make a difference in childcare.

Celebrating NACC’s ECE/ECA Heroes 

Challenge and Solution

Unfortunately, the Canadian childcare system is struggling to meet the growing demand from parents eager to provide their kids with the best start. Some have even described the shortage of workers a crisis.

That’s why NACC is proud to support many Regulated Career Colleges (RCCs) that offer programs to train Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and Early Childhood Assistants (ECAs).

Not only does NACC offer its own provincially-approved Early Childhood Assistant curriculum, but our member institutions also offer world-class training to aspiring ECEs and ECAs, enabling learners to launch new careers and helping to fill the gaps in Canada’s childcare sector.

Explore our gallery of images and testimonials highlighting the dedication of ECEs, the success stories of our graduates, and the positive impacts on communities.

The need for more ECE/ECAs is pressing and urgent. Across the country, waitlists are becoming more and more common. Even as provincial and federal officials promise funding to make childcare more affordable – they’re missing a key part of the puzzle – supplying enough highly-trained workers to actually unlock the childcare spaces Canada needs. According to advocates, only 32% of children from 0-12 have a space available to them, and only 45,000 spaces have been created for children 0-5 since 2021. On top of that, in 2023 parents of over 840,000 children under 5 still reported having difficulty finding child care.

Often, the burden of these shortfalls unfairly falls on women, who disproportionately turn down promotions or job offers, or cut their hours due in order to prioritize their childcare needs.

NACC is spotlighting the remarkable efforts of our institutions in fighting the childcare crisis. We are proud to showcase how RCCs are training top-notch ECE/ECAs, helping create new childcare spaces across the country, and making real contributions to Canada’s childcare sector.

Through stories from parents, learners, graduates, childcare providers and advocacy organizations, we are showcasing the impactful work being done to address the painful shortage of childcare spaces, and the proactive measures RCCs are taking to enhance early learning and childcare services and give the next generation the best start possible.

Even as provincial and federal officials promise funding to make childcare more affordable – they’re missing a key part of the puzzle – supplying enough highly-trained workers to actually unlock the childcare spaces Canada needs.

Join Us!

Join our endeavour to address the childcare gap and to give the next generation the best start possible. Please send us an email to elcc@nacc.ca

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#NACCELCC Campaign Archive

Additional Resources

Canada Child Care Statistics

Source: Statistics Canada