Alberta has launched a new $3.3 million bursary program to help grow the province’s early childhood education workforce. This new program will provide up to 300 one-time bursaries of $10,000 to eligible students over the next three years. The bursary is intended to help cover the costs of tuition, books, and living expenses for students enrolled in an approved early learning and childcare certificate program at one of 20 participating post-secondary institutions in the province.

In the provincial announcement, Hon. Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s Minister of Education and Childcare, said the investment directly addresses the need for a skilled workforce to provide high-quality care for families. The program follows five years of targeted support for the childcare workforce, which has seen the number of ECEs in Alberta increase by more than 13,000 to a total of 31,200 since 2021.

Federal Secretary of State for Children and Youth, Anna Gainey, was quoted in the announcement as saying ECEs are the “cornerstone” of Canada’s early learning and childhood system, and the bursary will help open doors for new educators and strengthen the workforce.

This investment is a part of the Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which includes a commitment to expand Alberta’s ECE workforce. All childcare staff in Alberta are required to be certified within six months of employment.

As Alberta expands its early childhood education workforce through the new bursary program, SAC is encouraging its members to engage with this initiative by exploring opportunities for collaboration with educators, advocating for communication health training in ECE programs, and monitoring workforce developments that may impact service delivery. SAC sees this investment as a strategic opening to strengthen early identification and support for children with speech, language, and hearing needs across the province.