ECEPTS National Conference on ECE Apprenticeship

The annual Early Care & Education Pathways to Success (ECEPTS) Conference on Apprenticeship showcases Early Care & Education apprenticeship initiatives around the country, bringing together a broad and diverse coalition of stakeholders and pioneers from early care and education (ECE), higher education, workforce development, philanthropy, and advocacy. Participants have the option of attending a pre-conference institute, “Apprenticeship 101,” to learn the fundamentals of ECE apprenticeships. The conference then includes 30 breakout sessions on a variety of apprenticeship topics, keynote speakers who highlight relevant policy issues, and panels of youth and adult apprentices reflecting on their ECE apprenticeship experiences. About ECEPTS: Registered 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 precise industry workforce needs. Building on the strong apprenticeship tradition, ECEPTS Apprenticeships represent state-of-the-art, replicable models that can uniquely address ECE workforce needs by integrating on-the-job training, mentoring, no-cost college coursework, cohort learning, increased compensation, and participant supports and services, resulting in high rates of program completion and low rates of attrition. As a sponsor of multiple Registered Apprenticeships since 2019, and a national Apprenticeship Intermediary for the ECE industry since 2023, ECEPTS has provided comprehensive training and technical assistance to many community-based partnerships around developing, implementing, and sustaining Registered Apprenticeship programs that can effectively address the professional development needs of ECE workers and the labor market needs of ECE employers.