News
April 28, 2026
ECWC Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week
Across all industries, from construction and manufacturing to technology and financial services, working parents rely on accessible, affordable childcare in order to remain employed. That’s why early childhood educators are often called the “workforce behind the workforce.”
National Apprenticeship Week reminds us that apprenticeship programs are a proven solution for growing, sustaining, and empowering the early childhood education (ECE) workforce. Watch this video to hear from our partners and their apprentices about their Registered Apprenticeship journey.
Growing ECE Careers Through Apprenticeship
Career Lattice Graphic.
ECE Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs represent a meaningful investment in early educators. They provide career seekers and current educators with structured and sustainable pathways for growth, while also helping employers develop and retain a strong, skilled team.
RA is an effective workforce development model which combines paid on-the-job learning, related coursework, mentorship, and guided professional development. This approach directly addresses longstanding challenges in the child care sector, including high turnover, staffing shortages, and limited opportunities for career mobility.
Through RA, educators gain the skills, confidence, and credentials needed to thrive in their roles. Employers benefit from a dependable and well-trained workforce. Communities gain greater access to stable, high-quality child care, strengthening families, and the local economy as a whole.
As shown in the image on the right, apprenticeship programs support a wide range of ECE career pathways. Educators can progress from being an assistant teacher to lead teacher to center director, while also opening doors to specialized roles such as curriculum developer, family support coordinator, licensing specialist, or policymaker. By building a strong foundation of experience and training, RA programs support educators’ growth at every stage of their professional journey.
Our Commitment
This National Apprenticeship Week, we celebrate the early childhood educators whose growth strengthens every industry—and reaffirm our commitment to empowering the workforce behind the workforce.
As an independent ECE apprenticeship intermediary, ECWC provides personalized technical assistance, foster strategic collaboration, and offer practical resources that strengthen program design, operations, mentorship, community engagement, and long term sustainability across RA, Youth Apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship programs that empower early educators.
When early childhood educators are empowered, families and businesses thrive.
And when educators have access to strong apprenticeship pathways, the entire workforce behind the workforce grows stronger.
Connect with us to explore how ECWC can help you reach your workforce goals.
November 19, 2025
Celebrating South Texas College’s First ECE Apprenticeship Graduates
Congratulations to South Texas College and the graduates of the first cohort of its Early Childhood Education (ECE) Associate Teacher Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program!
Family, employers, and students gathered to celebrate this milestone achievement as 14 graduates proudly earned their completion certificates. This program represents a significant step forward in addressing the critical need for qualified early educators in Texas and demonstrates the power of RA in building a strong, sustainable ECE workforce.
“These apprenticeship programs provide the opportunity for students to not only learn, but to also work and gain hands-on experience,” said Olivia De La Rosa, South Texas College’s dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development. “It gets them that much further along, especially when there’s a real need in the community.”
ECWC is proud to support innovative programs like this that strengthen the ECE workforce pipeline and create meaningful career pathways for aspiring early childhood educators. Click here to read a full article published by South Texas College News.
October 29, 2025
ECWC Showcases Successful Pathways® ECE RA in St. Louis
Across all industries — from construction and manufacturing to technology and financial services — working parents rely on access to affordable high-quality child care to remain employed, making early childhood educators the “workforce behind the workforce.” Yet child care programs nationwide face a critical challenge: they can’t hire enough qualified early childhood educators to meet demand.
The YWCA Metro St. Louis Head Start, a National Program of Excellence serving over 1,200 children, faced the crisis of too few qualified early childhood educators head on. In response, Stacy Johnson, Chief Early Education Officer and Head Start Director, launched the Successful Pathways® RA program — a bold initiative that’s now fully staffing classrooms and inspiring a waitlist of eager apprentices.
In late October, the ECWC team had the honor of joining our partner, Midwest Urban Strategies, to host the ECE Registered Apprenticeship Accelerator at YWCA Metro St. Louis, bringing together early childhood leaders, workforce partners, and educators from across the country for a day of learning, connection, and collaboration.
Attendees toured YWCA Metro St. Louis Head Start centers and saw the Successful Pathways® RA program in action. It was inspiring to witness how RA strengthens the ECE workforce and supports families and communities.
A huge thank you to our incredible hosts at YWCA Metro St. Louis, our sponsors Teachstone and District 1199C Training & Upgrading Fund, and every partner who made this event possible.
September 23, 2025
ECWC’s Reeva Murphy Featured in EdSurge Article
We’re excited to share that ECWC’s Reeva Murphy was featured in this recent EdSurge article, alongside our collaborator Calvin Moore from the Council for Professional Recognition.
In the piece, she highlights the work our team from WRMA, Inc., Midwest Urban Strategies, and LPE Associates has done through ECWC.
The ‘Silver Bullet’ to Fix Child Care’s Staffing Problem | EdSurge News
August 1, 2025
ECWC: An Independent ECE Apprenticeship Intermediary
ECWC was established in July 2023 as a U.S. DOL-funded ECE RA Industry Intermediary. From the start, ECWC’s mission has been to grow, strengthen, and sustain a stable, well-qualified, well-compensated ECE workforce by helping partners develop, launch, and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs nationwide.
Through that two-year contract, ECWC supported more than 80 partners in 28 states across the country, providing customized technical assistance that led to the creation of new apprenticeship programs, stronger systems connections, and expanded career pathways for early childhood educators. While the initial U.S. DOL contract has concluded, ECWC’s commitment to this work continues. Today, ECWC operates as an independent intermediary under a fee-for-service model, partnering directly with organizations to advance apprenticeship efforts and build lasting solutions for the ECE workforce.
Whether you’re launching a new apprenticeship program or strengthening an existing one, ECWC offers hands-on, tailored support to meet your goals. This graphic depicts the customized services we provide to help partners build and expand apprenticeship pathways. Through personalized guidance, strategic collaboration, and practical resources, ECWC strengthens program design, operations, mentorship, community engagement, and long-term sustainability across Registered Apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship programs.
Check out the ECWC Capability Statement to learn more!
June 27, 2025
Final ECWC Email
On behalf of the Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC) and the organizations that make up this team, WRMA, Inc. (a TriMetrix Company), LPE Associates, and Midwest Urban Strategies, we are saddened to share that the U.S. Department of Labor has decided not to continue funding ECWC and other emerging Industry Intermediaries beyond the end of our current project year.
Our team is incredibly proud of the meaningful work we’ve accomplished with our partners across the country over the past two years. It has been an honor and a privilege to collaborate with all of you to advance RA as a viable and valued workforce development strategy in early childhood education (ECE).
Together we have:
- Formed 80 formal partnerships across 28 states and the District of Columbia
- Supported the launch of 17 new RA programs for 16 new RA sponsors
- Helped expand 31 existing programs
- Contributed to the enrollment of over 1,000 new ECE apprentices (and counting!)
We strongly believe that ECE RA programs can help address the critical need for recruiting and sustaining a well-qualified and well-compensated ECE workforce that contributes to the health and well-being of young children and their families and the broader U.S. economy.
Access ECWC Resources
Though our team will no longer be available to provide direct technical assistance, we have ensured that you can still access the tools and materials we’ve developed:
- ECWC Website: All of the resources, webinars, FAQs, and project information on our website will remain active through July 2026 thanks to support from TriMetrix Inc.
- ECWC Partner Resource Library: This collection of resources and templates is now publicly available to support anyone working to build or grow an ECE RA program. Topics covered include program development, administration, mentorship, marketing, and sustaining your ECE RA program. Templates are included that can be customized to your program needs and requirements.
Thank you for your engagement with and commitment to expanding and strengthening the early childhood workforce through RA. This journey has been deeply meaningful and inspiring for our entire team. We are grateful for all that has been accomplished through this collective effort and look forward to watching all these seeds take root and grow strong and sustained RA programs that support a powerful, skilled, and well-compensated ECE workforce!
Warmly,
The ECWC Team
May 9, 2025
New Tools for ECE Mentors
Strong mentorship is key to the success of early childhood Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs. We’re excited to share three new tools designed to help mentors build their skills and support apprentices effectively:
- Roles and Responsibilities of a Mentor: This guide will identify mentor, journeyworker, and apprentice roles and responsibilities so that participants understand what is expected of them.
- What Makes an Effective Mentor in ECE RA Programs: Learn characteristics and behaviors of an effective ECE RA program mentor.
- Strong Foundations: Finding the Right Mentorship Match: This document walks through the steps for successful matching, qualities to look for in mentors, and the benefits of a strong pairing.
April 30, 2025
Celebrating National Apprenticeship Day
In honor of National Apprenticeship Day, we’re reflecting on how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown since the Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC), a project led by WRMA, Inc., launched in 2023. Our new infographic highlights ECWC’s impact from 2023 through April 2025, showcasing the incredible momentum we’re building together with our partners.
From helping launch 11 new Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs, to supporting 66 partners and nearly 800 apprentices entering the early childhood education (ECE) field, our network spans 27 states plus the District of Columbia and continues to grow.
We’re proud to support our committed sponsors and the apprentices who are helping to shape the future of early childhood education.
Happy National Apprenticeship Day, and thank you to all of our partners, sponsors, and champions of the ECE workforce!
April 17, 2025
ECWC Celebrates Onward Eugene’s New RA Program!
ECWC was honored to support Onward Eugene in achieving approval for their Child Care Development Specialist Registered Apprenticeship program. Through tailored technical assistance, ECWC helped them establish a clear and sustainable pathway for training and supporting early childhood educators in Lane County, Oregon.
See the news article and press release to learn more!
April 8, 2025
Join us for a webinar to celebrate National Apprenticeship Day!
On Thursday, May 1 ECWC will be hosting a webinar to support the marketing and recruitment efforts of early childhood Registered Apprenticeship programs. In this webinar, we’ll introduce the basics of marketing and explore key elements of creating dynamic marketing materials that effectively communicate essential program information to apprentices and employers. We’ll share expert guidance, innovative tools, and tailored solutions to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Participants will also hear from our partners at YWCA Metro St. Louis and the Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention at the University of Maryland, College Park as they share real-world examples of successful marketing and recruitment strategies for the early childhood RA programs.
Join us for:
Marketing & Recruitment Essentials for Growing Your ECE Registered Apprenticeship Program
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025
Time: 1-2 ET
This is a session you won’t want to miss!
Register for this webinar.
January 30, 2025
ECWC Authors Blog: The Impact of Apprenticeships for Career Advancement
In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week, the Early Childhood Workforce Connector authored an article promoting the impact of Registered Apprenticeship programs for career advancement, specifically highlighting early childhood education professionals. The article was featured on Clackamas Workforce Partnership’s blog site. Clackamas Workforce Partnership is focused on building a workforce system that promotes innovation, responsiveness, and transparency. They are a leader for early childhood education in Oregon, exploring a statewide approach to ECE RA.
November 17, 2024
Happy National Apprenticeship Week!
In honor of National Apprenticeship Week, ECWC created this video featuring a few of our partners and apprentices. See how early childhood Registered Apprenticeship programs are transforming the workforce and creating opportunities for growth and success!
April 5, 2024
University of Maryland’s Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention (CECEI) Establishes a Registered Apprenticeship Program for Early Childhood Educators
The Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC) is pleased to announce the registration of the first Standards of Apprenticeship under its guidance. The University of Maryland’s Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention (CECEI) has successfully established a Registered Apprenticeship program tailored for early childhood educators with collaboration and support from the ECWC team.
This initiative offers apprentices paid on-the-job training within centers dedicated to serving children and families with complex needs. “The goal of the Maryland Early EdCorp Registered Apprenticeship Program is to rebuild the child care workforce with high-quality early childhood educators prepared to support all children and families, particularly those with difficulties accessing services arising from disability, language barriers, poverty and other complex needs,” according to Christy Tirrell-Corbin, executive director of CECEI.