Center Based Educator Registered Apprenticeship

The Office of Early Childhood is excited to announce a request for proposals (RFP) to help support licensed child care centers, group homes, and intermediary agencies in recruiting, training, and retaining apprentices to build the early care and education workforce.

The CT Department of Labor recently approved a Registered Apprenticeship for Early Childhood Educators for center-based child care staff. The registered apprenticeship will provide work-based learning, pathways towards credentials, and wage increases to new early childhood educators.  

Description

To support the implementation of the Center Based Educator Registered Apprenticeship Program (CBE-RAP), OEC is making up to $4.275 million in funding available to licensed child care centers, group homes, and intermediaries through an RFP.

The OEC seeks proposals from licensed childcare centers and group homes that want to hire one or more apprentices to join their staff, based on their hiring needs. OEC will provide successful applicants with funding to support the implementation of the CBE-RAP (Pathway A – ECE Providers), which requires providers to train and support their apprentices to become qualified ECE professionals.  Providers will train apprentices, using funding available through this RFP, through a structured and employer led approach, which can facilitate recruitment, promote staff retention and job satisfaction, and enhance the quality of early childhood education available through their centers.

The OEC also seeks proposals from intermediary organizations who will provide training, technical assistance, and wraparound supports for ECE employers and their apprentices (Pathway B – Intermediaries). The intermediary will ideally have existing relationships with licensed childcare providers or group homes that do not have the infrastructure to support an apprenticeship program; and a history of working in the ECE space and/or experience with sponsoring CT DOL registered apprenticeships. Through this RFP, OEC will provide successful proposers with funding to help licensed centers or group homes with fewer resources to recruit, train, and support apprentices.

Key Dates

Questions received by each Friday in the Q & A period will receive responses the following Tuesday. The OEC will collect and respond to questions weekly.

Watch a video of the pre-bid conference (August 28, 2024)

You may download a copy of the pre-bid conference presentation here.

RFP Documents

• CBE-RAP Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Budget Template
• CTDOL APPENDIX A Early Childhood Educator I 2024
• RFP Available on CT Source: #OEC-24-CBERAP
• RFP FAQs (questions submitted 8/20 to 8/23)
• RFP FAQs (Questions submitted 8/26 to 8/30)
• RFP FAQs (Questions submitted 9/2 to 9/6)