Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Four New Partnerships to Build Early Education Workforce

Boston — Building on the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s investment in Registered Apprenticeships to grow the early childhood education workforce, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) announced today an initial award of $1.4 million for the first round of pilot partnerships with selected organizations to serve as regional intermediaries to support workforce development pathways, including registered apprenticeships, for center-based and family child care (FCC) programs across Massachusetts. Establishing regional intermediaries for early childhood education registered apprenticeship programs also reflects the cross-secretariat collaboration of Governor Healey’s Early Education and Care Task Force.

The pilot partnerships include the Community Group, based in Lawrence, selected to support center-based apprenticeship programs, and three organizations selected for FCC intermediary support:

• Family Services of Central Massachusetts, serving EEC's Western and Central regions
• United Way of Massachusetts Bay, serving EEC’s Metro Boston and the Northeast regions
• The SEIU Education and Support Fund, serving EEC’s Southeast and Cape region

“Our administration is committed to making early education and care more affordable and accessible for families across the state,” said Governor Maura Healey. “With support from game-changing programs like C3, we made progress last year with more families able to enroll their children in affordable child care, more educators being hired, and educator wages continuing to increase. But we know there is more work to be done. These new partnerships build on that success and take a regional approach to promoting a robust early childhood workforce.”

“We know that child care costs are too high, and waitlists are too long. A key to lowering costs and expanding options for families is a strong, high-quality workforce,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These apprenticeship partnerships will strengthen and boost our early childhood profession, increasing critical opportunities for hands-on training and hard skill development.”

In collaboration with EOLWD’s Division of Apprentice Standards (DAS), the intermediaries will provide high-quality training opportunities, recruit apprentices and connect them to employers, and assist registered apprenticeship programs with the administrative tasks of managing pathways and requirements for registering programs. Further, intermediaries will be positioned to provide participating child care program employers and FCC educators with funding to cover mentor stipends and wages for apprentices. Early childhood apprenticeships are one of the fastest growing sectors for apprenticeships in Massachusetts.

“We know how foundational early education and care is for setting students up for school and lifelong success. Being an early childhood educator is a critically important job. I look forward to seeing how these partnerships support job seekers passionate about early education gain the skills and hands-on experience they need to join the field and meet their economic mobility goals,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.

"The Healey-Driscoll Administration appreciates the partnership with registered apprenticeship programs across Massachusetts, paving pathways for new talent to gain credentials as early childhood educators and adding workforce capacity to this critical sector,” said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones. “By extending support to registered apprenticeship programs through these newly designated intermediaries, we look forward to advancing recruitment, training, and economic opportunity for this in-demand career pathway in regions throughout Massachusetts.”

In 2024, the three organizations selected for FCC intermediary support will collaborate to design a high-quality training program to support new FCCs through licensure and developing core educator competencies. Beginning in 2025, the three vendors will implement these programs by creating a system of program recruitment, mentorship pairing, and quality management, which aims to graduate a combined 250 FCC educators by 2026. These partnerships are the first round of investment from the administration that will leverage a total of $10 million in federal funds through the end of 2026 to support and expand on this work.

Further, the Community Group will help to create apprenticeship pathways that align to future credential standards for early-career educators and implement a system of program and educator recruitment across organizations in the Northeast region. This partnership builds on The Community Group’s existing apprenticeship programming.

“We have been working with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and early childhood leaders to strengthen and expand apprenticeships that are key to a robust early education and care workforce. I am excited to be launching these new partnerships, with an intentional focus on our family child care programs, to support people to earn while they learn – helping us to recruit and retain qualified educators, while also promoting their economic mobility, leading to improved access to high-quality child care for Massachusetts’ youngest children and their families,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw.

“Registered Apprenticeship offers a trusted blueprint for a skilled workforce. The Division of Apprentice Standards is pleased to work collaboratively with the Department of Early Education and Care to support these new partnerships and build our early childhood education team,” said Josh Cutler, Undersecretary for Apprenticeship, Work-Based Learning, and Policy.

One focus area for Governor Healey’s early education and child care task force is identifying strategies to recruit, train, upskill, and retain members of the child care workforce, including by expanding apprenticeship initiatives, higher education programs, and training opportunities. Additionally, EEC held a series of listening sessions in 2023 and 2024 with registered apprenticeship programs, professional development entities, and child care programs to identify opportunities for the state to bolster these types of supported pathways.

Apprenticeship programs are an effective workforce development model that provide mentor-supported on-the-job training, relevant technical instruction, paid work experience, and an industry recognized credential upon completion. These programs are a key strategy for both improving the quality of early-career educators and expanding the pipeline of educators and mentors.

“The Community Group is thrilled to partner with EEC to serve as an apprenticeship intermediary, which will allow us to develop and expand accessible pathways into the field through our registered apprenticeship and teacher training programs. The educator pipeline is a critical component of a healthy early education system and has been a persistent challenge statewide, requiring responsive and proactive cross-agency collaboration. We are excited to scale innovative solutions that offer a pathway for entry into the field, particularly for those who face systemic barriers," said Maria Gonzalez Moeller, CEO of the Community Group. "The Community Group is committed to contributing to the health of our early education workforce and looks forward to leveraging this investment from EEC to make significant strides in training and supporting the next generation of early education professionals.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Department of Early Education and Care to advance a thriving, equitable Commonwealth, uplifting and centering the needs of our communities,” said Daphne Principe-Griffin, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer at United Way of Massachusetts Bay. “Quality, culturally appropriate childcare where children live and play is a critical part of the solution. Family childcare educator/entrepreneurs not only help ensure young children have early learning environments to grow and thrive and families can go back to work with peace of mind, but they also contribute to our economy and our communities as new small business owners.”

“SEIU Education and Support Fund brings together early educators to design and facilitate worker-centered, relationship-based, and accessible education, apprenticeship, and training programs. We are thrilled to be part of this collaboration to bring pathways to entry into early education across Massachusetts," said Liz Sheehan Castro, Northeast Regional Child Care Director, SEIU ESF.

“We believe apprenticeship provides a solid foundation of all that early childhood education requires because of the competency-based approach. Educators get the opportunity to learn and apply theory immediately in their day-to-day practice. Our adult learners internalize their learning through this practice and by sharing experiences with their peers in class. Good teachers reflect, refine, and reapply their knowledge, adapting to their students’ needs daily,” said Leslie Baker, Program Director, Center for Childcare Careers at Family Services of Central MA.

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