Occupational Standards

What are Occupational Standards?

Occupational Standards describe what a person in a particular occupation needs to know and be able to do to be considered ‘capable’ in the occupation. In general, ‘capable’ means that a person has the level of skills, knowledge and abilities required to do a job effectively, safely and properly.

CCHRSC has developed two sets of Occupational Standards for the ECEC sector:

Occupational Standards for Child Care Administrators (2006): Describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities administrators require in six key areas: child development and care (programs); human resources; financial; facilities and community relations; and governance.

Task Profile Chart for Child Care Administrators: A resource tool accompanying the Occupational Standards for Child Care Administrators that summarizes the knowledge, skills and abilities in an organized chart to hang on the wall.

Please note: The Occupational Standards for Child Care Administrators are currently being updated and a new version will be available through the CCHRSC website in Winter 2013. As the new 2012 standards will replace the 2006 standards, print copies of the original standards are no longer being distributed.

Occupational Standards for Early Childhood Educators (2010): Describe the knowledge, skills and abilities early childhood educators (ECEs) need to do their job effectively.

Task Profile Chart for Early Childhood Educators: A resource tool accompanying the Occupational Standards for ECEs that summarizes the knowledge, skills and abilities in an organized chart to hang on the wall.

Please note: As of November 2012 the CCHRSC will no longer distribute print copies of the Occupational Standards for ECEs as the organization works to wrap up office operations (see the Dissolution Message on our home page for details). To order print copies, please visit the e-Store of the Canadian Child Care Federation at  http://www.cccf-fcsge.ca/store/

How can Occupational Standards be used?

Occupational Standards are an extremely valuable resource tool that can be used by a variety of ECEC sector stakeholders, from government decision makers and curriculum developers to child care centre administrators and front-line ECEs. We have developed a number of resources that help describe some of their uses:

  • Occupational Standards for Early Childhood Educators: How-To Guide (2010): There are over 100 documented uses for Occupational Standards. This report describes five most common uses for the Occupational Standards for ECEs, including developing job descriptions; conducting performance appraisals; informing and assessing early childhood educator professional program curricula; identifying ongoing professional development needs; and informing certification/registration measures.
  • Occupational Standards for ECEs Videos
    As part of the recently released Occupational Standards for Early Childhood Educators project, two different presentations — How To Use the Standards and Training Gaps Analysis: Results — were delivered across the country. The information presented has now been captured in a series of video segments designed to describe different aspects of each presentation. The videos can be viewed by clicking on the following link, which will bring you to the CCHRSC Vimeo channel.

How To Use the Occupational Standards for ECEs

  • Use 1 – Developing Job Descriptions
  • Use 2 – Performance Appraisals
  • Use 3 – Assessing Programs
  • Use 4 – Identifying PD Needs
  • Use 5 – Informing Certification/Registration

Training Gaps Analysis of the Occupational Standards for ECEs

  • Training Gaps: Conducting the Analysis
  • Training Gaps: Research Methods (Part 1)
  • Training Gaps: Research Methods (Part 2)
  • Training Gaps: Strategies & Solutions
  • Training Gaps: Moving Forward
  • Occupational Standards Checklists
    The CCHRSC has partnered with the Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC) to produce the Occupational Standards for Child Care Administrators and Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) Checklists. These new tools use a checklist format that allows ECEs and administrators to evaluate and reflect on their skills, knowledge and abilities. Practitioners can then develop a plan to strengthen their competency in each task.

To order print copies of the checklists, please visit the ECCDC website at http://www.eccdc.org/.

Other Occupational Tools

Occupational Language Analysis: Describes necessary language skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking — for ECEs and Child Care Administrators.