More career progression options for early childhood sector

SINGAPORE — After several years teaching at a childcare centre, Ms Kartini Sudirman felt frustrated with her career options — stay a teacher, or become a principal.

Today (Sept 19), in the latest move to address long-standing complaints on the lack of career progression options in the early childhood education sector, the authorities are introducing a career pathway framework — one that will eventually spell out the recommended wage range for each job level — to help those in a position similar to Ms Sudirman’s.

The teacher, who worked at a childcare centre before moving on to a kindergarten four years ago, said the childcare centre she worked at was small, with just seven teachers. “You stay in that position for a very long time because there are no senior teachers...if you want to advance it will be straight away to the principal,” said the 30-year-old.

Under the new voluntary framework introduced by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), more roles are set out. For example, instead of having just three levels of nursery teacher, kindergarten teacher and principal, a level 1 nursery teacher handling just one class can move on to take charge of several classes, or oversee other nursery teachers. With the relevant qualifications, teachers eventually become master teachers, or choose the management track and become principals.

There are currently 14,000 early childhood professionals, and the Government aims to increase this pool by 1,500 in the next two to three years.

The move comes on the back of years of efforts to develop better career opportunities in the early childhood sector to raise standards, improve salaries and retain talent.

In 2011, the Government announced that all childcare centres would be required to have at least 75 per cent of their educators certified in early childhood education by 2016. Scholarships and training grants have been introduced to help educators develop their skills and in 2012, a professional development framework was announced, aimed at those in charge of children at the nursery level and below.

Last year, ECDA was set up as a dedicated agency overseeing the sector, and Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing announced the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Masterplan.

The latest framework, which will be implemented within a year, builds on the CPD Masterplan. Announcing the framework at the Early Childhood Conference today, Mr Chan said it will act as the sector’s guide. “This will also be a basis for us to assess and help teachers to progress...for us to remunerate our teachers fairly... and to guide the training and development roadmap for all teachers in the sector.”

Meanwhile, sector veterans with the relevant qualifications can apply from next month to be ECDA Fellows and share best practices through workshops and by mentoring professionals. They will have to commit for three years and will receive an annual Service Recognition Allowance of S$9,000.

Operators in the early childhood sector TODAY spoke to welcomed the new framework, with the bigger players, like Ms Moon Tan, executive principal of NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool at Compassvale Link, pointing out that they already have similar frameworks in place.

Dr Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte, centre director of The Caterpillar’s Cove, who has been in the sector for 20 years, said: “I do feel that this echoes what they have been trying to do over the past years, but I have to acknowledge that the field was very fragmented when it was previously under two ministries. I think what they are trying to do now is to build a fraternity that is consolidated and make career progressions much clearer.”

Ms Julie Koh, founder of Nurture Education Group, believes the framework will help retain teachers. “This recommended career progression pathway will help to address a group of teachers who are currently not able to progress and simultaneously ease the manpower crunch in the early childhood sector,” she said, adding the group would consider adopting it.