Articles
Singapore’s Early Childhood Sector Needs Mid-Career Professionals
The rapid growth of Singapore’s early childhood sector
Recognised by Former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as a cornerstone of our nation’s future leaders’ development back at the 2017 National Day Rally, Singapore’s early childhood education is a burgeoning field backed by both social and national interests. Indeed, the enrolment rate of children between 3 to 4 years old has increased from 76% in 2014 to 90% in 2024, while enrolment among children between 5 to 6 years also rose steadily from 91% to 93% within the same time period (MSF, 2025).
To keep pace with this rapid expansion, Singapore’s early childhood workforce has grown over 18,000 in 2018 to 25,000 in 2025. Despite that, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) estimates that an 1,500 additional educators will be required to meet demand and maintain standards as preschools themselves expand (CNA, 2025).
Beyond simply ramping up recruitment, there’s also a growing need for specialised educators, particularly in the areas of mother tongues, inclusive learning, and media literacy. For instance, most Mandarin teacher vacancies reportedly take at least six months to fill. Educators have also observed a decline in language proficiency among Malay and Tamil students over the years (CNA, 2023). At the same time, ECDA has added 600 more slots to the Inclusive Support Programme (InSP) from the initial 150 to support children with developmental needs, further underscoring the rising demand for educators with specialised pedagogical knowledge (The Straits Times, 2025).
Developmental programmes for aspiring and in-service preschool educators
A suite of structured upskilling pathways are available to support mid-career professionals and in-service educators who are seeking to formalise their professional qualifications in their transition towards meaningful careers in early childhood education.
- Advanced Certificate in Early Years (ACEY) equips learners with the foundational competencies to support basic health, hygiene, safety, and nutrition for infants between 2 months to 3 years old. On top of qualifying to care for infants, playgroups, and pre-nursery groups of this age range, students will also receive an ACEY certification upon completion of the course and be eligible for certification as an EY2 educator.
- Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood Care & Education (ACECCE) teaches knowledge on early brain development and growth of children aged between 18 months and 4 years old. Graduates qualify to teach pre-nursery and nursery children within this age range as well as assist in K1 and K2 levels. They will also be eligible for L1 certification by ECDA.
- Diploma in Early Childhood Care & Education – Teaching (DECCE-T) prepares aspiring educators for the ECDA L2 certification by diving deep into the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth and development of children between 18 months to 6 years old. The certification qualifies educators to teach playgroup, nursery, K1, and K2 children between this age range.
- Diploma (Conversion) in Early Childhood Care & Education – Teaching [DECCE-T (Conversion)] is an accelerated pathway to ECDA L2 certification that develops professional competencies in curriculum planning, classroom facilitation, and child guidance catered for applicants with recognised diplomas or degrees.
For more details on the entry requirements, please refer to the course page for more details, or feel free to reach out to us at admissions@niec.edu.sg. We’ll be happy to assist.
Career growth prospects in Singapore’s early childhood education sector
Early childhood educators can also look forward to illustrious careers with plenty of upwards mobility thanks to well-defined pathways towards leadership and specialist positions with diverse job scopes and proportional compensation. ECDA’s data reflects that early childhood educators received pay increases of between 10-30% from 2022 to 2024, with monthly compensation ranging from S$2,900 to as high as S$6,600 (ECDA, 2022). Furthermore, salary guidelines peg basic monthly salaries of Centre Leaders between the range of S$5,570 to $8,650, and Early Intervention Leads and Managers at S$6,680 to S$8,980 (ECDA, 2024).
The mid-career advantage
Rather than starting from zero, mid-career professionals often enter the early childhood sector with transferable skills that are immediately relevant to today’s preschool environment. These capabilities can accelerate progression into senior or specialist roles in ways that purely classroom-based experience may not.
For instance, a marketing or communications professional brings a strong understanding of audience engagement — skills that translate directly into clearer parent communication and more effective storytelling around a centre’s educational approach.
Likewise, an IT or digital professional can contribute to the development of age-appropriate digital and media literacy programmes, helping preschools integrate technology thoughtfully while keeping learning purposeful and child-centred. Roles that require curriculum coordination and other forms of planning or stakeholder coordination may, on the other hand, be suitable for professionals with backgrounds in project management or operations.
Financial support for early childhood training
NIEC courses are backed by a comprehensive range of financial support schemes to further smoothen the early childhood educator training pathway.
NTUC members may also receive support under the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP), which offsets up to 50% of unfunded course fees (capped at $250 annual, or $500 for members aged 40 and above). In addition, those who meet the prevailing household income criteria may further qualify for MOE Bursary.
Reach out to learn more about how you can build a meaningful future for both yourself and the leaders of tomorrow’s Singapore.
References
- Ministry of Social and Family Development. (2025) Family Trends Report 2025. https://www.msf.gov.sg/docs/default-source/research-data/family-trends-report-2025.pdf
- CNA. (2025) Sun Xueling on growing the early childhood educator workforce. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/sun-xueling-growing-early-childhood-educator-workforce-4841951
- CNA. (2023) Manpower shortages, lack of use: Mother Tongue educators face challenges amid declining proficiency. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mother-tongue-second-language-malay-mandarin-tamil-3919441
- The Straits Times. (2025) 600 more children with developmental needs to benefit from inclusive learning in pre-schools. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mother-tongue-second-language-malay-mandarin-tamil-3919441
- Early Childhood Development Agency. (2022). Government Announces Key Preschool Moves to Better Support Families and Boost Early Childhood Careers. https://www.ecda.gov.sg/news/government-announces-key-preschool-moves-to-better-support-families-and-boost-early-childhood-careers
- Early Childhood Development Agency. (2024) 2024 Indicative Monthly Salary Ranges. https://file.go.gov.sg/ecda-ec-ei-monthly-salary.pdf
