Early childhood educators and assistants

Overview

Early childhood educators plan, organize and implement programs for children between the ages of infancy and 12 years. Early childhood educator assistants provide care for infants and preschool- to school-age children under the guidance of early childhood educators. Early childhood educators and assistants lead children in activities to stimulate and develop their intellectual, physical and emotional growth and ensure their security and well-being. They are employed in child-care centres, day-care centres, kindergartens, agencies for exceptional children and other settings where early childhood education services are provided. Supervisors of early childhood educators and assistants are included in this unit group.

Also known as:

baby-care worker
baby-care worker assistant
baby-care workers supervisor
child care worker - daycare
child care worker assistant

Median salary

The median salary for this job across Ontario is $45,800

Average hourly wage

Low $17.60

Medium $22.00

High $31.00

Low
The low wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 10th percentile. For example, if the low wage is $12.00/hour, this means that 10% of the workers in the occupation earn $12.00/hour or less.

Medium
The median wage is the indicator of the prevailing wage for each occupation. The median wage is the middle point of the wage distribution, when wages are arranged in numerical order.

High
The high wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 90th percentile. For example, if the high wage is $40.00/hour, this means that 90% of the workers in the occupation earn $40.00/hour or less.

Education and training pathways

To be qualified for this job, completion of a relevant postsecondary program and licensing is required in Ontario. Early childcare educator assistants require experience in childcare and may require a relevant postsecondary program.

Secondary school or equivalency

An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent is required. If you haven’t completed the required credits, you can earn them through Adult learning programs.

College or university programs

Completion of a two- to four-year college program in early childhood education or a bachelor's degree in child development is required for early childhood educators. Early childcare educator assistants may require completion of an early childhood education assistant certificate program or postsecondary courses in early childhood education.

Educational pathways are provided for informational purposes only. Links are included for programs at publicly assisted postsecondary institutions. They may not be inclusive of all relevant programs available in Ontario.

View college programs View university programs

Indigenous Institute programs

Indigenous Institutes offer programs related to this in-demand career.

View Indigenous Institute programs

Other education or certifications

Required registration

Registration with the College of Early Childhood Educators is required in Ontario.

Micro-credentials

Consider obtaining micro-credentials to gain skills and knowledge relevant to your career. Micro-credentials are rapid training programs that can help you get the skills that employers need.

View micro-credentials

Relevant organizations

Career data by region

See median salary and historical job postings of this career profile based on Economic Region.

Totals for economic regions may be less than total online job postings for the province due to exclusion of postings without reliable information.

Economic Region	Median salary ($)	Historical job postings
Ottawa	48,000	896
Kingston-Pembroke	47,800	169
Muskoka-Kawarthas	43,100	108
Toronto	45,800	1,886
Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie	41,600	682
Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula	47,800	414
London	45,800	181
Windsor-Sarnia	43,700	122
Stratford-Bruce Peninsula	45,800	127
Northeast	48,200	308
Northwest	49,900	74

Find a job

We can help you build your skills, find a job and plan your career.

Search and apply for jobs on the Job Bank

About the data

Information on this page is sourced from the National Occupational Classification (NOC), which is Canada’s national system for describing occupations.

NOC Code: NOC 42202

View full job profile

Ontario’s labour market information website is developed for use as a resource to help people explore career options. The job outlooks for each occupation use projections of future job openings and should be interpreted with caution. Shifts in the rate of economic growth, technological developments, business restructuring, or changes in government policies can all affect the future growth prospects or skill requirements of the labour market.

Job outlooks have been developed for Ontario as a whole, and may not reflect the situation in each local labour market. The number and type of employers, the occupational make-up of the workforce, and other local economic conditions all contribute to the employment prospects for an occupation in a given community.

The accuracy of the information presented for in-demand skills and knowledge and other sections based on job posting data depends, in part, on whether jobs are categorized into the correct occupational groups. In some cases, job postings may be incorrectly attributed to an occupational grouping and the data should be interpreted with caution

Please contact us if you have questions about the information contained on this site

Help us improve this tool

Take a short survey about My Career Journey.