October 8 – 10, 2025 / Washington, DC
The 4th Annual National Conference on ECE Apprenticeship was a tremendous success! The event brought together 225 participants from 31 states and Washington, DC. We’re deeply grateful for the energy, insights, and collaboration shared over the four days. Check out the PPT presentations from the 30 breakout sessions here!
Session 1: 10:30 – 12:00
PDF | 30.9MB
This session focuses on an ECEPTS-sponsored Expanded Learning (EL) Apprenticeship supported by two community-based agencies in Oakland, CA. Apprentices earn ECE Associate Teacher Permits and 48 credits toward an AA degree and receive wrap-around supports and services. Learn about the EL Apprenticeship model and how it can provide a bridge to ECE and PK-12 Teacher Apprenticeships for the diverse population that makes up the EL workforce.
Expanding Raps Statewide: Group Sponsorship at the State Level (PDF | 1.3MB)
PDF | 1.3MB
The New York State Council on Children and Families launched a 3-year Child Care Assistant Registered Apprenticeship Pilot focused on group family and center-based child care. This session will highlight key elements of this pilot, including its partnerships, funding, related instruction providers, and feedback from a statewide advisory group.
Nuts & Bolts: Understanding the Registered Apprenticeship System through an ECE Lens (PDF | 1.2MB)
PDF | 1.2MB
JobForward has developed and implemented programs to serve nearly 2,000 apprentices in 22 nontraditional occupations. Through a partnership with ECEPTS, JobForward has developed a deep understanding of the unique economic and systemic challenges facing ECE and the potential of registered apprenticeship as a workforce development strategy. This interactive session will explore common concerns and confusion about the RA system.
Scaffolding a Systems Approach to Developing ECE Apprenticeship Programs (PDF | 293KB)
PDF | 293KB
Working within state early childhood systems can be a complicated endeavor. In this session, attendees will hear from Arkansas and Minnesota teams about how they work within complex systems to build ECE RAs, including engaging critical partners and establishing robust program development teams. Attendees will learn about the wide range of stakeholders needed and how to build RA partnerships that can support participant success.
Strengthening and Growing ECE Leadership through Apprenticeship (PDF | 9MB)
PDF | 9MB
Successfully preparing ECE administrators and directors through apprenticeship is an emerging approach to leadership development. In this session, participants will hear about efforts in three states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire) to develop and implement ECE Director/Administrator Registered Apprenticeship programs, highlighting the successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
Utilizing Apprenticeship to Train ECE Teachers and Leaders: New Jersey Pilot Project (PDF | 2.5MB)
PDF | 2.5MB
This session will explore the learning and community-building opportunities for ECE teachers and mentors in New Jersey’s statewide apprenticeship pilot. The program focuses on building career and education opportunities for infant-toddler teachers and advancing mentors into the next wave of ECE leaders. Discussion topics will include promoting retention, leadership development, and pilot project replication.
Session 2: 1:30 – 3:00
BA Degree Pathway for ECE Apprentices: The Edvance College Model (PDF | 4MB)
PDF | 4MB
Learn about EDvance College, an accredited online institution in California, and its innovative approach to offering a BA pathway to ECE apprentices. By integrating employer partnerships, Spanish language support, and competency-based learning, the program bridges theory and practice in unique and comprehensive ways that support student engagement and degree completion.
Building an Early Childhood Registered Apprenticeship for Infant and Toddler Teachers (PDF | 1.3MB)
PDF | 1.3MB
Learn about Rhode Island’s experience from development to implementation of a registered apprenticeship for infant and toddler teachers. Essential program components will be highlighted, including how increasing compensation is embedded and how established state systems have been engaged.
Building ECE Apprentices’ Job Readiness Through Innovative On-Boarding (PDF | 4.4MB)
PDF | 4.4MB
Community Action Marin, a Head Start program in Northern California, launched an ECEPTS apprenticeship in 2023. This session will explore the 7-week onboarding program developed to enhance apprentices’ job readiness and support long-term career advancement. Learn about innovative participant support services, including soft skills training, digital literacy support, and English language resources for non-native speakers.
Complexities & Opportunities in Managing a Local Multi-Employer Apprenticeship (PDF | 3MB)
PDF | 3MB
With over 19 partnering employers and 40 apprentices, the Durham ECE program is the largest registered apprenticeship for early childhood educators in North Carolina. Explore the program’s strategies for recruitment, supporting academic success, coordinating mentors, and facilitating structured on-the-job learning across sites. Opportunities and challenges for scaling and increasing impact will be highlighted.
Connecticut’s Ece Apprenticeship Journey: A Statewide Initiative (PDF | 3.5MB)
PDF | 3.5MB
Connecticut invested $4.275 million to build a statewide network of ECE registered apprenticeship programs for center-based providers. This session will explore key aspects of the initiative, including engaging employers, building connections to higher education, training mentors, providing basic needs stipends to apprentices, and planning for long-term sustainability.
PDF | 823KB
Non-traditional students and workers like those who make up the ECE workforce (i.e., first generation college students, English language learners, older adults) often face significant barriers to accessing and succeeding in professional and academic training programs. In this session, ECEPTS registered apprenticeship program leaders explain how they embed research-based supports to mitigate such barriers and bolster program completion.
Session 3: 10:30 – 12:00
Apprenticeship Data Requirements And Management: Strategies For Compliance And Success (PDF | 1.2MB)
PDF | 1.2MB
This session focuses on an ECEPTS-sponsored Expanded Learning (EL) Apprenticeship supported by two community-based agencies in Oakland, CA. Apprentices earn ECE Associate Teacher Permits and 48 credits toward an AA degree and receive wrap-around supports and services. Learn about the EL Apprenticeship model and how it can provide a bridge to ECE and PK-12 Teacher Apprenticeships for the diverse population that makes up the EL workforce.
Building Sustainable Early Learning Workforce Pipelines In Washington State (PDF | 27.1MB)
PDF | 27.1MB
Explore Washington’s innovative strategies for building early learning workforce pipelines through the State Childcare Partnership Grant and Early Learning Apprenticeship Program. Discover how Educational Service District 123 collaborates with K-12, higher education, and industry employers to create equitable career pathways, work-based learning, and apprenticeships, especially for rural communities.
CDA To Bachelor’s Degree: An Innovative Approach To Apprenticeship At Dallas College (PDF | 1.3MB)
PDF | 1.3MB
In Texas, Dallas College partnered with local child care organizations to design and implement an apprenticeship program that develops the early educator pipeline and aligns with leading practices in teacher preparation and development. This presentation will unpack the levers at play in providing a seamless apprenticeship pathway to certifications and degrees for the ECE workforce.
From Experience To Expertise: Key Lessons In Scaling Mentor Training (PDF | 2.7MB)
PDF | 2.7MB
Holyoke Community College (HCC) successfully developed, piloted and evaluated a mentor training program in partnership with Neighborhood Villages’ apprenticeship programs. Now offered statewide, successful completers are eligible for a Massachusetts mentoring endorsement. This session will provide essential information and insights for those interested in developing mentor training for their apprenticeship programs.
The Promise Of Youth Apprenticeship: Building The Next Generation Of Educators (PDF | 822KB)
PDF | 822KB
OUSD in California is completing the second year of the Oaktown Leaders Youth Apprenticeship (OLYA), an ECEPTS-sponsored program for high school students. Learn about the program’s design and development, successes, lessons learned and plans for future expansion. Hear directly from OLYA youth apprentices about their experiences and how the program has impacted their career and academic planning.
Statewide Strategy For Building Ece Registered Apprenticeships (PDF | 1.3MB)
PDF | 1.3MB
In 2022, the North Carolina Business Committee for Education created a program called Building Bright Futures to guide ECE centers and programs across the state toward participation in registered apprenticeship. This session will explore the impetus and beginnings of Building Bright Futures, strategies for outreach and engagement, roles and responsibilities of all parties, and program successes.
Session 4: 1:30 – 3:00
Building A Pipeline: From Preservice To Leadership (PDF | 4.2MB)
PDF | 4.2MB
In 2024, Kennedy Children’s Center became the first registered apprenticeship program in New York State focusing on Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). Learn about the challenges in converting their existing Grow Your Own program into three stackable registered apprenticeship programs, and how this model helps to address New York’s ECSE staff shortages.
Embedding Community Through A Cohort-Based Model Of Ece Apprenticeships (PDF | 1.7MB)
PDF | 1.7MB
Learn from leaders of Missouri’s Starting Early, an organization dedicated to addressing workforce and public policy solutions in early care and education. Participants will gain an understanding of the three phases of implementing a community-based cohort model of apprenticeship as a means of removing structural barriers that hinder access to education and training.
Enhancing The ECE Workforce: The Power Of Partnership In Chicago (PDF | 2.7MB)
PDF | 2.7MB
Public workforce systems, higher education institutions, and government agencies can play important roles in strengthening ECE registered apprenticeship programs. This session will focus on a partnership between an industry intermediary, a university, an employer, and a local Workforce Development Board, to sustain an ECE apprenticeship pilot program.
Supporting ECE Apprentices In Balancing Work, School And Family Commitments (PDF | 4.1MB)
PDF | 4.1MB
Woodcraft Rangers, a large community-based organization that works with over 60 Los Angeles Unified School District schools, has developed and implemented Together Rising L.A., a thriving ECEPTS-sponsored apprenticeship program for the Expanded Learning workforce. This session will focus on strategies through which mentors, employers and Related Instruction providers can support apprentices in managing and sustaining work-school-family balance.
Supporting Registered Apprenticeship Through The Expansion Of A CDA Pre-Apprenticeship (PDF | 1.1MB)
PDF | 1.1MB
This session will highlight how state agencies and institutions of higher education collaborated to develop a certified pre-apprenticeship program leading to a CDA for adult learners. This presentation will describe how Montana uses no-cost training, community of practice sessions, and incentives to support apprentices, mentors, and sponsors as an entry point into the registered apprenticeship pathway.
Wisconsin’s Registered, Youth, And Certified Pre-Apprenticeships For ECE Educators (PDF | 706KB)
PDF | 706KB
WI DWD’s efforts to address the ECE workforce needs began with the introduction of the Early Childcare Educator registered apprenticeship in 2018 and has grown to include Youth Apprenticeship and Certified Pre-Apprenticeship elements. Hear about engagement efforts with employers and learn how state agencies can partner with local workforce development boards to create innovative solutions that work.
Session 1: 10:30 – 12:00
PDF | 239KB
Home-based and Family Child Care providers are a critical segment of the ECE workforce. But systemic barriers often make it impossible to enroll them in registered apprenticeship programs. This session will highlight initiatives in California, Connecticut, Maryland and Minnesota that have confronted such barriers (with varying degrees of success). Learn from their successes, challenges and solutions to opening the doors of registered apprenticeship to home-based ECE workers.
PDF | 1.4MB
APRENDE at Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico leverages related technical instruction from SFCC’s ECE programs and on-the-job learning at the Kids Campus laboratory school. Participants will explore the benefits of the model and how similar partnerships can inform program design and support participant success in diverse contexts.
PDF | 939KB
Developing Registered Apprenticeship Standards can feel like a daunting undertaking! In this session, participants will develop an understanding of the component parts of apprenticeship standards and how to write and submit standards at the state and/or national level. Bring your questions and concerns to the conversation!
Let’s Play B.I.N.G.O! (PDF | 37.9MB)
PDF | 37.9MB
Dive into this dynamic and interactive session designed to inspire fresh ideas and actionable strategies for sustaining and growing your apprenticeship program. Using the playful and engaging framework of B.I.N.G.O, participants will explore innovative approaches to overcome common challenges, set impactful project goals, and leverage new opportunities for growth and expansion.
Preparing The Future Ece Workforce In Los Angeles County (PDF | 7.8MB)
PDF | 7.8MB
In 2022, LACOE launched the Universal Pre-K Career Development Initiative. Through an innovative, fast-track registered apprenticeship pathway, LACOE brings together federal, state, county and philanthropic funding sources. Learn how this collaboration covers tuition, on-the-job training stipends and all associated fees to help current and aspiring educators overcome obstacles of accessing professional development opportunities.