The Career Conversion Programme (CCP) for Preschool Educators offered by the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) aims to equip mid-career Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) with the necessary knowledge and skills to work as Preschool Educators in the Early Childhood (EC) sector.

This CCP consists of classroom and workplace training and will be conducted over 13 to 18 months. Upon successful completion of the CCP, participants will register with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) as a certified Preschool Educator and work in an ECDA-licensed Early Childhood Development Centres.

NIEC is a national training institute set up by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to strengthen the foundational training and professional development of Singapore’s early childhood educators at different stages of their careers.

Individuals

The Programme is open to all company-sponsored applicants who meet the following General eligibility criteria:

• Be a Singapore Citizens (SC) or Singapore Permanent Residents (PR) aged 21 years and above;
• New hires must have graduated or completed National Service, whichever is later, for at least two years prior at the point of application;
• Must be a new hired[1] (i.e. not more than six (6) months from date of employment) by participating ECDA-licensed Early Childhood Development Centres;
• New hire must pass a pre-requisite medical examination required by ECDA to work in the sector;
• Must not be in a similar job role prior to joining the CCP;
• Must not be a shareholder of the participating company, or its related companies;
• Must not be related to the owner(s) of the participating company; and
• Must not be immediate ex-staff of participating company or its related companies.
• Individuals can register their interest with NIEC and find out more about participating employers.

[1] Those hired for not more than 6 months prior to course registration date.

To apply, participants should meet the minimum course entry requirements as follow.

*Please visit www.ecda.gov.sg for the list of English/Chinese Language Acceptable Alternatives. The above minimum entry requirements serve only as a guide. More information is available at www.niec.edu.sg

Employers

• Registered or incorporated in Singapore with a valid Unique Entity Number (UEN) with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA);
• Offer a full-time PMET position related to job role which the CCP is for at least a 12-month employment contract from the start date of course;
• Ensure that new hires have met the eligibility criteria and are not:
  • A shareholder of the CCP company, or its related companies;
  • Related to the owner(s) of the company; and
  • Immediate ex-staff of the company or its related companies.
• Commit to CCP training arrangements for the trainees and the CCP terms & conditions.

Selected applicants will undergo screening, interview and shortlisting process as determined by the hiring employer.

Employers must commit to working with WSG and the appointed programme manager on necessary administrative matters related to the CCP.

Funding support

Note: For individuals newly hired[1] and put on Place-and-Train CCPs for the period between 1 September 2020 and 31 March 2023, the Salary Support (SS) will now be disbursed to participating employers over a longer period, comprising the CCP training duration and an additional period of retention equivalent to the training duration.

[1] The adjustment to Salary Support disbursement will apply based on the date of hire of the individuals (i.e. start of employment with employer and not date of commencement of the CCP). To illustrate, the adjustment to SS disbursement will not apply to individuals hired before 1 Sep 2020, even if they start the CCP after 1 Sep 2020. Conversely, individuals hired between 1 Sep 2020 – 31 March 2023 will be covered by the changes, even if they start the CCP after 31 March 2023.