SEIU EARLY EDUCATOR APPRENTICESHIP R ANDI B. W OLFE , P H .D. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WAF INNOVATION TOOLKIT WEBINAR SERIES

RANDI B. WOLFE, PH.D.

President, TIKKUN Consulting Training Grants Coordinator SEIU Early Educator Training Center

SEIU EARLY EDUCATOR APPRENTICESHIP

August 22, 2017

 EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION

 ECE includes in-home and out-of-home settings for children from birth to age 5  ECE workforce is large and diverse

 WHY FOCUS ON THE ECE WORKFORCE?

 Inequality in early care and education results in inequality in ability, academic

achievement, health outcomes, adult success

 Investment in ECE results in huge benefits for children, families, communities  The KEY to program quality (i.e., optimal child outcomes) is teacher quality  PROBLEM: There is an alarming shortage of qualified ECE workers and

that shortage is projected to grow dramatically over the coming years

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

 WAF BIG IDEA

 Transform ECE from being viewed as a dead end job to an entry point to a

sustainable career pathway

 Develop workforce development programs that recognize the tension between

increasing professional requirements and inadequate compensation

 Evidenced-based, economical, scalable models that utilize a collaborative,

comprehensive, state-of-the-art approach

 Programs designed to increase skills and competencies of the ECE workforce

while simultaneously increasing compensation, without placing any additional financial burden on parents

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

 TARGET GROUPS

 Center-based assistant/associate teachers  Licensed FCC providers (home-based)  Head Start teachers and parents  Licensed exempt providers (pre-apprenticeship)

 COMPONENTS

 On-the-job mentoring  College coursework and supplemental supports  Wage increases tied to achieving milestones

 TOTAL ENROLLMENT: 190

 Center-based teachers: 39  Licensed FCC providers: 58  Head Start teachers and parents: 93

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

 EMPLOYER/SERVICE-PROVIDING PARTNERS

 Service Employees International Union Locals 99, 521, 1021  Mexican American Opportunities Foundation  Child Care Resource Center  YMCA of the East Bay – Early Childhood Services

 EDUCATION PARTNERS

 Los Angeles Trade-Technical College  Berkeley City College  Brandman University

 FUNDING SOURCES

 WAF 2.0 – WAF 3.0 – WAF 5.0  CA Apprenticeship Initiative 2015  CA Apprenticeship Initiative 2016

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

 SUCCESSES

 1st cohort of 12 center-based workers graduated in June 2016  Successful track record of program design and implementation in three areas

across the state, working with three discrete segments of the ECE workforce

 Registered (or will be registered) with DAS and DOL  Development of models that could easily be replicated nationally, given the

similarity of these sectors across the ECE landscape

 Established ECE as a worthy and viable sector to include in apprenticeship and

• ther WFD initiatives

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

 BARRIERS / CHALLENGES

 Due to rigid definitions and policies, FCC program has to be registered as an

“other OJT” option (not an apprenticeship)

 Took over a year to get resolved

 Challenges of working with many IHE’s, different kinds of employers and

service-providing partners, working in multiple locations across CA

 Square peg/round hole phenomenon

 Female workforce in a male-dominated workforce development world  ECE doesn’t quite fit into K-12; doesn’t quite fit into trades

 Long-term sustainability (i.e., funding) is always challenging and uncertain

SEIU Early Educator Apprenticeship

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

RANDI B. WOLFE, PH.D.

President, TIKKUN Consulting Ph: 626-497-7645 Em: randiwolfe@tikkunconsulting.com Website: http://seiuearlyeducatortraining.org/