Overview
The Early Childhood Educator Workforce Supports Program helps licensed family day home agencies and day care, out-of-school care and preschool programs support the recruitment, retention and professional development of their certified early childhood educators (ECEs).
If you are a certified ECE working for a licensed program or under a licensed family day home agency that is approved to receive this grant, the following types of funding are available:
- wage top-ups
- professional development
- paid release time for training
ECEs do not need to apply for this funding themselves. Payments are provided to approved programs, whose operators must transfer it to their ECEs, including in cases where an ECE has paid for approved professional development training themselves.
Funding guide
For more details, including eligibility requirements for each funding type listed below, visit the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Supports Program webpage or refer to the Funding Guide for Early Childhood Educator Workforce Supports:
Eligibility
To receive funding, you must:
- be certified as an ECE (Level 1, 2, or 3)
- be a paid employee of a licensed day care, preschool and/or out-of-school care program or be contracted as a family day home educator with a licensed agency
- work for a licensed childcare program or family day home agency that participates in the grant program
Ask your employer if they have signed the required agreements and are submitting monthly claims on your behalf.
Wage top-up funding
Wage top-up funding provides additional pay over and above the base wage paid by your employer. Eligible ECEs must be paid at least minimum wage (not including the wage top-up) and will receive hourly wage top-ups based on their certification level.
Table 1. Wage top-up rates
Funding is paid monthly up to a maximum of 181 hours at the following rates:
| ECE certification level | Government Wage Top-up Rates |
|---|---|
| Level 1 ECE | $2.64 per hour |
| Level 2 ECE | $5.05 per hour |
| Level 3 ECE | $8.62 per hour |
Table 2. Average employer-paid wages before and after government wage top-up funding
| ECE certification level | Average employer-paid wage (as of December 2025) | Average wage with wage top-up (as of December 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 ECE | $17.57 | $20.21 |
| Level 2 ECE | $18.70 | $23.75 |
| Level 3 ECE | $21.08 | $29.70 |
Wage top-ups are taxable, paid through your employer’s payroll, and should be shown as a separate line item (for example, government contribution) on your paystub. You can also view your claimed and paid wage top-ups through the ECE portal.
Employers receive ‘mandatory employer contribution funding’ to help cover legislated payroll contributions (CPP, EI, and WCB) for administering wage top-up payments. This makes it easier for your employer to offer this funding, ensuring your wage top-up is fully supported and your benefits are properly funded.
Professional development funding
ECEs can receive up to $2,000 per year to help cover costs of approved training. ECEs must have worked in a licensed childcare program for a minimum of 720 hours based on eligible wage top-up hours claimed and paid in the last two years by the date of completion of the eligible post-secondary course, workshop or conference (refer to the Funding Guide).
If you paid for an approved course, workshop or conference yourself, your employer can still apply on your behalf and transfer the received funding to you, once proof of completion is available. You can view your claimed and paid professional development funding through the ECE portal
Table 3. Professional development funding rates (effective September 1, 2021)
| Professional development type | Funding rates per ECE |
|---|---|
| Workshops and conferences | up to $500 per year |
| Post-secondary coursework and textbooks | up to $1,500 per year |
| Maximum available funding | up to $2,000 per year |
Funding for post-secondary coursework and textbooks is available for approved early learning and childcare (ELCC) credit courses from Canadian institutions only.
Funding for workshops and conferences is for the training on the 2026/27 Approved List of Workshops and Conferences.
Training obtained through non-approved post-secondary courses, workshops and conferences is encouraged but cannot be claimed under this program.
Release time funding
Release time funding is available to all ECEs who are eligible for professional development funding. ECEs can receive up to $2,387.50 per year as a study incentive to complete approved education and training, even if it occurs outside of scheduled work hours (for example, evenings or weekends). This allows ECEs to be paid for studying, completing post-secondary coursework and/or attending workshops or conferences that have been approved for professional development funding.
Release time funding is paid to your employer, who then must transfer the payment to you as a taxable benefit. You can view your claimed and paid release time funding through the ECE portal.
Table 4. Rate of payment to program per ECE
| Professional development type | Release time funding rates per ECE |
|---|---|
| Workshops and conferences | up to $787.50 per year (based on $17.50 per hour up to 45 hours) |
| Post secondary courses | up to $1,600 per year (based on $800 per 3-credit course up to 2 courses) |
Funding requests for professional development and release time
A separate form is required to receive professional development and release time funding.
ECEs and/or programs must fill out the Professional Development Funding Request form and follow the submission instructions in the form.
- Submit receipt of payment and proof of completion.
- To request release time funding along with professional development funding, you must fill in the relevant section in the form above.
- For post-secondary courses, submit within 3 calendar months of completion.
- For courses started between January and March 2027, submit within 3 calendar months of completion or by June 30, 2027, whichever is sooner.
- For workshops and conferences, submit within 3 calendar months of completion or by March 31, 2027, whichever is sooner.
2026/27 professional development and release time funding
The Alberta government introduced the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Supports Program on April 1, 2026. This program includes changes to professional development and release time funding. Read the documents below for more information for the 2026/27 fiscal year:
- Professional Development and Release Time Funding Fact Sheet
- Approved List of Workshops and Conferences for Professional Development and Release Time Funding
Viewing your funding in the ECE portal
A funding display feature is available in the ECE portal, which shows ECEs their claimed and paid:
- wage top-up funding
- professional development funding
- release time funding
This feature shows information from January 2026 and later on a rolling 12-month basis. This means you will see your most recent year of claimed funding going back 12 months or to January 2026, depending on when you are viewing your information.
You can log in to the ECE portal to view funding display information.
If you do not already have an ECE portal account, you can complete identity verification through a series of security questions to create your account and access your current certificate and funding display.
Contact
Connect with the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Supports Program:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-1119
Toll free: 1-800-661-9754
Email: [email protected]
Walk-in service is not available.