Job prospects Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Assistant near Yellowknife (NT)

The employment outlook will be moderate for Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202) in Northwest Territories for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• There was strong demand for early childhood educators across the Northwest Territories in 2024.
• The Northwest Territories aims to create 300 net new childcare spaces by 2026, which should lead to job growth in this occupation.
• In 2024, 14 communities in the Northwest Territories did not yet have a licensed child care facility.
• The Government of Northwest Territories offers a free Early Childhood Essentials Course for early childhood educators working in licensed programs.
• Diploma programs in Early Childhood Development are offered in the Northwest Territories at Aurora College and at Collège nordique francophone.
• Early Learning and Child Care Scholarships are available from the Government of Northwest Territories for students enrolled in a diploma or degree program in early childhood development. 

Here are some key facts about Early childhood educators and assistants in Northwest Territories:

• Approximately 200 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Early childhood educators and assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Health care and social services (NAICS 62): 79%
  • Educational services (NAICS 61): 15%
  • Public Administration and Defence (NAICS 91): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 77% compared to 88% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 23% compared to 12% for all occupations
• 53% of early childhood educators and assistants work all year, while 47% work only part of the year, compared to 71% and 28% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 41 weeks compared to 44 weeks for all occupations.
• 11% of early childhood educators and assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 7% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 9% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 91% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 20% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 25% compared to 26% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 8% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 31% compared to 18% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 12% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology