About ECEPTS
Why ECEPTS? Why Apprenticeship?
Apprenticeship is a respected, tried-and-true approach to training low-income job seekers and placing them on sustainable career pathways while supplying employers with workers who can meet their precise workforce needs.
Building on the apprenticeship tradition, ECEPTS Apprenticeships represent state-of-the-art, replicable models that uniquely address the needs of the ECE workforce by integrating on-the-job training, coaching, no-cost college coursework, cohort learning and increased compensation.
Almost entirely female and in the majority women of color, the ECE workforce includes significant numbers of recent immigrants, working mothers, and first-generation college students who face challenges and barriers to success common among non-traditional students and workers.
To ameliorate these challenges, ECEPTS Apprenticeships incorporate research-based supports that result in consistently high rates of program completion.
Mission
To advance the rigorous professional development and economic well-being of the Early Care and Education workforce so that all children can reap the full benefits of their early learning and care experiences.
Vision
A society that fully respects and supports young children and those who teach and care for them.
Strategies
Apprenticeships | Field Building | Systems Change
Values
Respect | Integrity | Competence | Commitment to Results
ECEPTS Strategies
Apprenticeships
ECEPTS Apprenticeships represent state-of-the-art, replicable models that uniquely address the professional development needs of the early care and education workforce by integrating on-the-job training, coaching, no-cost college coursework, cohort learning, and increased compensation. As an ECE sector intermediary, ECEPTS provides training and technical assistance to support design, development, and implementation of ECEPTS-sponsored apprenticeship programs across the country.
Field Building
As a pioneer in the field, ECEPTS is committed to developing a network of Registered ECE Apprenticeship programs that reflect state-of-the-art early childhood education theory and practice, prioritize equity as a key value and driver of program design and participant outreach, and advance the economic well-being of the ECE workforce. ECEPTS field building activities include sponsoring conferences, developing toolkits and resource materials, and lending expertise to new program and policy initiatives.
Systems Change
ECEPTS approaches systems change through the lens of workforce development, with a goal of advancing the rigorous professional development and economic well-being of the early care and education workforce. Believing that broad-based coalitions are necessary to effect systemic and sustainable change, we collaborate and engage the ECE industry, workforce development entities, institutions of higher education, policy and advocacy groups, the philanthropic community, and government.
Background
Originally developed in partnership with the Early Educator Training Center of the Service Employees International Union, ECEPTS Apprenticeships aim to recast entry level positions in early care and education from being seen as “dead-end jobs” to being on-ramps and springboards to well-paid careers in ECE and a variety of related, respected fields. ECEPTS apprenticeship models address existing education and training gaps by offering innovative, multi-level programs designed to support the success of working adults with structured on-the-job learning, coaching and mentoring, coordinated college coursework with academic supports, professional learning communities, and increased compensation.
Through participation in ECEPTS Apprenticeships, ECE workers earn college credit (at no cost to program participants) that articulates to state-recognized permits and degrees required for higher-wage positions of greater leadership and responsibility. The state and federally registered programs establish a pipeline of qualified workers and a career pathway to self-sufficiency for the nearly 205,000 low-income, mostly female workers who make up the Early Care and Education workforce in California.
ECEPTS Partners
Funding Partners
California Apprenticeship Initiative
Emerging Bilingual Collaborative
Healthcare Career Advancement Project (H-CAP)
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation
ECEPTS Team
ECEPTS Strategic Advisory Council
Ellen Cervantes, Child Care Resource Center
Lisa Cook, Berkeley City College
Charles Henkels, LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network
Robert Lanter, California Workforce Association
Pamm Shaw, YMCA of the East Bay
Ashley Williams, Ed.D., Jumpstart
Early Care & Education Pathways to Success is a fiscally-sponsored project of Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Voices From The Field: 2022 ECEPTS National Conference
Hear first-hand from a panel of five apprentices from the Early Educator Apprenticeship program at YMCA of the East Bay (5.18.22)
Enjoy other materials and videos below from the 2021 and 2022 ECEPTS National Conferences:
2022 ECEPTS National Conference – Breakout session materials
Voices from the Field: 2021 National Conference – ECEPTS Apprentices Talk about Early Educator Apprenticeships
Memorable Insights from Conference Presenters – ECEPTS Virtual Conference, April 2021
