WHEREAS there is a shortage of Early Childhood Educators ECE with a license to practice in Northern BC and, due to different legislation between provinces, there is no recognition within the province of BC for those ECE Educators certified out of province; AND WHEREAS since the Community Care Facilities Branch in BC does not carry out academic assessments for applicants who have completed their post secondary training outside of BC, these Early Childhood Educators are required to do one or both of the following: A Submit transcripts to a recognized BC college for evaluation toward advanced credit and to determine those courses that are transferable; B Make application through the International Credential Evaluation Service for a fee, to determine equivalents for Early Childhood Educators certification in British Columbia; It should be noted that in either case there is no guarantee that courses or certification will be recognized in British Columbia.: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the provincial government to work with other orders of government to ensure the transferability of Early Childhood Education accreditation across the provinces.
Ministry of Advanced Education The Government of British Columbia Government is currently working on two initiatives to reduce barriers to labour mobility for Early Childhood Educators: 1. The Early Childhood Educator Registry, with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, has initiated a one year pilot project which began in June 2006 to expedite the recognition of credentials of those trained and licensed in Alberta. 2. The governments of British Columbia and Alberta signed a most significant economic agreement in April 2006, known as the Alberta-BC Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement TILMA. Early Childhood Educators is one of the occupations to which attention has been drawn, that does have barriers and needs to be added to the TILMA transitions list of occupations that require further work toward reconciliation of standards.