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Co-Learner, Co-Researcher, Educator
In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.
The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used.
Here is how this occupation has been classified over time.
2006 NOC
2006 NOC-S
2011 NOC
2016 NOC
2021 NOC
2023 OaSIS
Early childhood educators plan, implement, and reflect upon materials, experiences, and environments for children. They strive to meet the social, physical, intellectual, creative, cultural, emotional, and developmental needs and interests of all children, including children with special needs. They encourage play-based learning rooted in children’s interests and foster their desire to learn. They establish routines and guidance for positive behaviour that:
They also:
Early learning and care programs are based on Alberta’s Early Learning and Care framework. The framework accounts for children’s interests and learning needs. Its goals relate to children’s emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. It’s also meant to promote literacy, imagination, creativity, and social responsibility. Programs make use of individual, small- and large-group activities, indoor and outdoor play, and outings. Activities, which vary throughout the program, are chosen to accommodate each child’s unique abilities. A typical day’s schedule might include:
A well-designed learning environment for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers makes learning tangible through play. It includes ways to develop physical, emotional, creative, social, and intellectual skills through play, materials, routines, and interactions with other children and adults.
Activities at out-of-school care programs reflect the interests of the children and meet the unique needs of children aged 6 to 12. The role of out-of-school educators is to provide a safe, secure, relaxing, and fun place for children to go, outside of school hours.
Working conditions for early childhood educators vary widely. Small programs in approved family day homes may serve up to 6 children. Other childcare facilities may provide care for more than 80 children. Individual group sizes vary, as the child to educator ratio is based on age in alignment with childcare licensing requirements. There may be multiple educators in each room.
Hours also vary. Most childcare programs are open from 6 or 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. Early childhood educators work a changing shift within those hours. Some programs may have different hours.
In comparison, childcare providers in family day homes generally work from 6 or 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. They also may work evenings and weekends.
In addition:
To keep up with children in their care, early childhood educators must be able to move quickly. They spend most of the day walking, bending, kneeling, and sitting on the floor. They routinely lift infants and children. They must stay calm and collected during stressful situations.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2023 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
To find out how well this occupation fits your work personality types, complete the Work Personalities Quiz in Find Your Fit.
Click or tap a personality type for its description.
Find other alis occupations that match this occupation’s work personalities.
To identify or change your work personalities, complete the Work Personalities Quiz in Find Your Fit.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2023 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
Early childhood educators
2023 OaSIS: 42202.01
The graph below shows how well your scores match the overall abilities for this occupation.
The closer your ability scores are to the center, the more they match this occupation’s. The further away they are, the less they match this occupation’s.
The lower your ability scores are compared to the occupation’s, the more challenging the occupation will likely be for you. The higher your ability scores are compared to the occupation’s, the less challenging the occupation will likely be for you.
To find out how well this occupation fits your abilities, complete the Abilities Quiz in Find Your Fit.
The 49 abilities are grouped into 5 abilities sets: Critical Thinking, Numbers and Patterns, Physical Activity, Mind-Body Coordination, and Senses.
Some abilities are more relevant to an occupation than other abilities. Individual abilities that are not relevant to an occupation are greyed out.
To fill in or change the values for your abilities, complete the Abilities Quiz in Find Your Fit.
Critical Thinking includes 9 abilities related to identifying and solving problems, thinking of ideas, and communication, such as speaking and writing.
This is how well your scores match the set of Critical Thinking abilities for this occupation:
Numbers and Patterns includes 10 abilities related to math, memorizing, and multitasking. It also includes how we perceive patterns, shapes, and distances.
This is how well your scores match the set of Numbers and Patterns abilities for this occupation:
Physical Activity includes 9 abilities related to strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, and endurance.
This is how well your scores match the set of Physical Activity abilities for this occupation:
Mind-Body Coordination includes 9 abilities related to movement control and how we react to signals. It also includes fine motor skills, such finger and hand dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
This is how well your scores match the set of Mind-Body Coordination abilities for this occupation:
Senses includes 12 abilities related to seeing, hearing, and speaking.
This is how well your scores match the set of Senses abilities for this occupation:
The work of an early childhood educator is varied, dynamic, and sophisticated. Early childhood educators need:
Early childhood educators should enjoy taking a creative and open-minded approach to their work and building relationships with people, especially children. They should be at ease taking responsibility for projects and supervising others.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
This chart shows which job skills are currently in highest demand for this occupational group. It was created using this occupation's 157 most recent Alberta job postings, collected between Aug 12, 2025 and Nov 05, 2025.
Review these skills to learn:
| Tasks: Guide and assist children in the development of proper eating, dressing and toilet habits | 110 |
|---|---|
| Tasks: Develop and implement child-care programs that support and promote the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of children | 110 |
| Tasks: Lead activities by telling or reading stories, teaching songs and taking children to local points of interest | 99 |
| Tasks: Plan and maintain an environment that protects the health, security and well-being of children | 90 |
| Tasks: provide opportunities to express creativity through the media of art, dramatic play, music and physical activity | 88 |
| Construction Specialization: Reliability | 87 |
| Tasks: Engage children in activities by telling stories, teaching songs and preparing crafts | 83 |
| Tasks: Observe children for signs of potential learning or behavioural problems and prepare reports for parents, guardians or supervisor | 82 |
| Construction Specialization: Team player | 81 |
| Tasks: Attend staff meetings to discuss progress and problems of children | 78 |
Early childhood educators in licensed programs must have completed post-secondary education in early learning and childcare, or equivalent education. An equivalencies chart is available on the Government of Alberta website.
Employers prefer to hire individuals with a:
Early childhood educators need to understand children, childhood, and responsive educator practices.
Knowledge of FLIGHT, Alberta’s Early Learning and Care framework, is an asset.
The following schools offer programs or courses that are related to this occupation but are not required to enter the field.
To expand or narrow your program options, visit Post-Secondary Programs and start your search with:
Completing a program does not guarantee entrance into an occupation. Before enrolling in an education program, prospective students should look into various sources for education options and employment possibilities. For example, contact associations and employers in this field.
Certain professional titles or duties within this occupation are protected by provincial legislation. Requirements vary if you use these titles or perform these duties.
The related legislation is shown below. If there are multiple related legislations, select a certification heading to learn about each one.
Early childhood educators work with infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-aged children in a variety of settings.
Under the Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Act [pdf] and the Early Learning and Child Care Regulation [pdf], staff working in licensed daycare, out-of-school care, group family child care and preschool programs must have early childhood educator certification. They must be certified within 6 months of starting employment and before having unsupervised access to children.
As per the Family Day Home Standards for Alberta, staff working in approved family day home agencies must have Early Childhood Educator certification. They must be certified within 6 months of approval to provide child care.
For information on what you need and other details, visit the certification profile Early Childhood Educator.
Source: 2021-2025 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook
Early childhood educators work in:
Experienced early childhood educators may advance to supervisory or leadership positions or start their own businesses. Additional education is a definite asset.
This section shows the industries where the majority of people in this occupation work. The data is based on the 2016 Census.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.
Early childhood educators and assistants
2016 NOC: 4214
84.6% of people in this occupational group work in:
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For examples, see Note.
This section shows the Alberta job market condition, or short-term demand forecast, for this occupation over a 3-year period. It also shows the number of people employed in the occupation.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2021 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.
Source: 2024-2026 Alberta Short-Term Employment Forecast
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For examples, see Note.
To see data for all occupations, visit Occupations in Demand.
This section shows the employment outlook for this occupation in Alberta over a 5-year period.
Employment outlook is influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.
Source: 2021-2025 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook
Annual growth is from 2021 to 2025. New positions created each year are in addition to job openings created by employment turnover.
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For examples, see Note.
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.
Most early childhood educators are paid hourly wages that vary widely throughout the province. Income and benefits depend on the size of the program, the nature of the employing organization, and the educator’s level of training. Licensed childcare programs can receive grant-based program and staff funding through the Government of Alberta.
In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2021 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.
Unless otherwise noted, the data shown here is for all industries and all regions in Alberta.
All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production), and other forms of compensation.
To see the full survey data for this NOC group, visit the wage profile.
Other wage sources
To make an informed wage and salary decision, research other wage sources to supplement this data.
Good Reliability, represents a CV of between 6.01% and 15.00% and/or fewer than 30 survey observations and/or if survey observations represent less than 50% of all estimated employment for the occupation.
| Wages* | Low (5th percentile) | High (95th percentile) | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting | $15.00 | $22.63 | $16.73 | $15.50 |
| Overall | $15.50 | $24.51 | $19.05 | $18.07 |
| Top | $16.50 | $30.96 | $23.81 | $24.00 |
Swipe left and right to view all data. Scroll left and right to view all data.
* All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production) and other forms of compensation.
Pay brackets for hourly wages
| ALL INDUSTRIES | $35,671 |
|---|---|
| Educational Services | $33,108 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | $36,099 |
| Public Administration | $38,149 |
Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta website: aecea.ca
Alberta Family Child Care Association website: afcca.ca
Child Care Staff Certification website: www.alberta.ca/child-care-staff-certification
Flight, Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework website: www.flightframework.ca
Get information and referrals about career, education, and employment options from Alberta Supports.
Updated Mar 31, 2025. The information contained in this profile is current as of the dates shown. Salary, employment outlook, and educational program information may change without notice. It is advised that you confirm this information before making any career decisions.
