Early childhood sector aims to recruit 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030
The Early Childhood Development Agency is expanding a hiring grant and looking to tap preschool educators already qualified for infant care roles.
Educators and young children at E-Bridge Pre-School on Aug 28, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Raydza Rahman)
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SINGAPORE: The early childhood sector aims to recruit 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030 to meet rising demand for infant care places, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said on Friday (Aug 28).
This follows Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally announcement on Sunday (Aug 23) that monthly fees for full-day childcare and infant care will fall to S$150 (US$120) and S$300 respectively by 2030, as part of efforts to make preschool more affordable and accessible.
The lower fees, before means-testing, will apply to every Singaporean child regardless of household income, and lower-income families will pay even less.
Full-day childcare at government-supported preschools currently costs S$365 to S$559 a month after basic subsidies, while infant care costs S$746 to S$1,256.
EXPANDED HIRING GRANT
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From September, ECDA will expand its Manpower Hiring Grant to help preschool operators recruit and train local and foreign educators towards early childhood certification.
Under the place-and-train arrangement, employers hire candidates first, who then receive part-time training for the role. The grant covers up to 70 per cent of training stipends and 50 per cent of course fee subsidies for eligible trainees.
Training stipends will be raised across trainee categories, with extra support for infant care certification such as the Assistant Infant Educator and Fundamentals Certificate in Infant Care courses.
Funding under the grant will be extended by three years to Dec 31, 2030, and ECDA will explore overseas partnerships to widen the pool of candidates.
“ECDA’s focus is to build a strong and well-trained infant care workforce. Infant care educators require specialised knowledge and skills to support the developmental and caregiving needs of infants,” it said.
The agency is also looking to draw on preschool educators already qualified to work in infant care.
More than 2,000 hold such qualifications, but only about 4 per cent were working as infant educators as of August, with the rest serving older age groups.
ECDA said it is exploring additional support for educators interested in infant care, to encourage more of them to take up such roles and obtain certification where needed.
NEW GRANT FOR PRESCHOOL OPERATORS
Separately, ECDA said it will introduce a new grant to help eligible preschool operators join the government-supported network, part of broader plans to widen access to affordable preschool services.
“This will allow a broader range of operators, including smaller operators, to benefit from government support while continuing to offer diverse programmes and choices for families,” the agency said.
The move follows Mr Wong’s National Day Rally pledge of more help for operators seeking to join the network and meet its requirements. He noted that government-supported centres currently have places for about 80 per cent of preschoolers, and said the network needed to expand for the lower fees to reach more families.
Details of the new grant are still being worked out. ECDA said it is engaging preschool operators and the wider sector on the transition, with more details to follow later this year.
Source: CNA/cj(cy)
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