• Most openings in the early childhood sector are jobs for PMETs, said MOM
• Manpower demand in the industry is expected to rise alongside preschool enrolment
• Skills from hospitality or service industry are valued in the sector, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo

SINGAPORE — More than 1,900 openings were available in the early childhood sector as at the end of September, of which 98 per cent were jobs, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday (Nov 2).

About 85 per cent of the job openings were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in roles such as preschool teachers, centre leaders and child care services managers. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Speaking to reporters after a visit to the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) on Monday, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said the early childhood sector is “well and growing”, with preschool places expected to rise from 180,000 currently to 200,000 by 2023.

“There are 21,000 preschool teachers today and we are still recruiting. So we are looking at the current pool of teachers that we need. Attrition is very low right now and it is also a very rewarding sector for our citizens as well as those who are looking for a job to get into,” said Mr Masagos.

He noted that demand for teachers continues to be healthy even amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The 2019 salary for those in the sector has also increased 17 per cent over the last three years, compared with 6 per cent in the overall job market. 

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo added that the sector values people who bring in transferable skills from other industries.

“If you look at all those who have joined the sector, about three in four are actually mid-career persons who have come from other sectors and bring transferable skills,” she said.

Besides an interest in caring for children, the industry also values candidates with good service skills, including those from sectors harder hit by Covid-19 such as hospitality or retail, said Mrs Teo. 

“What we found is that despite the dip in enrolment during the circuit breaker period, NIEC was in fact able to have a slight increase in their enrolment this year which, to my mind, augurs well both for the teachers who are already in the profession and those who are interested to join,” she said.

In its latest job situation report, MOM added that the Early Childhood Development Agency (Ecda) is working closely with operators to accelerate hiring plans and to place affected employees from sectors hard-hit by the pandemic. 

To this end, the agency is working with operators to provide about 500 short-term Safe Management Assistant positions to implement safe management measures in the preschools.

It is also increasing its efforts to reach out and place mid-career job seekers through the career conversion programmes.

WHAT ROLES THERE ARE

In the more than 1,900 openings offered by the early childhood care and education sector:

• There are 1,620 jobs for PMETs and 290 for non-PMETs

• There are 20 company-hosted traineeships and attachments for PMETs and 10 for non-PMETs

Those who wish to become an early childhood educator must attain either a certificate or diploma in early childhood offered by NIEC or Ecda-accredited programmes conducted by private training agencies. These courses range between four and 30 months. 

Apart from the more specialised roles that require a certificate or diploma in early childhood, there are also jobs, traineeship and attachment opportunities in ancillary roles, such as in the areas of marketing, human resources, finance and administration, said MOM in its report.

HOW MUCH THE INDUSTRY PAYS

MOM gave some details on the monthly salary range for various educator tracks within the industry:

• For those in the educarer track working with children aged two months to four years old in kindergartens and childcare centres, the pay ranges from S$1,800 to S$3,150

• For those in the teacher track working with children aged four to six in kindergartens and childcare centres, the range is from S$2,200 to S$3,550

• For educators on track to take on centre or teacher leadership positions in kindergartens and childcare centres, the pay range is from S$3,100 to S$7,600