ECD (AGE 0-4) IN SOUTH AFRICA: Towards a Job Hierarchy for ECD Provision & Supervision in South Africa Linda Biersteker presentation to the Western Cape COP meeting 25 October 2017

Contribution For ECD sector to expand and be upgraded it will need to become more attractive as a career option with incentives to improve qualifications. This presentation identifies job hierarchies and career paths for ECD in different work settings makes recommendations re developing the job hierarchy, service conditions and how job creation initiatives could better address the scaling up of ECD and the needs of the NIECD

I left school at Grade 8 and I am very sorry for it today I left school at Grade 8 and I am very sorry for it today. Now I’ve got the same as matric. I want to do Level 5 also. I can do things on my own. I want to start my own small crèche, I know I can do it.” (ECD practitioner working in the sector since 1999) “Level of qualification should also be used as a marker of payment for salaries, We need to be able to sign contracts that stipulate that employment is for those who have proven that they can practice. (ECD Service Provider) “Salaries of practitioners are not even putrid they’re terrible …” (Government official)

Mapping Career Paths provides a structure helpful in the development of common norms and standards for regulation (licensing) indicates possible horizontal and vertical progressions between jobs so that these can be considered in the development of core qualifications and specialisations helps define the upward mobility or exit opportunities for those who enter low wage ECD jobs and allows for a broader focus in social sector job creation

Career ladder - job progression within a single professional setting Career lattice - indicates possible horizontal as well as vertical progression opportunities Can we expect a job structure to raise mobility rates substantially ? – depends on supply of better jobs, qualification ceilings and organised negotiation

Recommendations for a South African ECD Career Lattice Home Formal Outreach Regulation, Monitoring, Training and Capacity Building Support Services NQF Level In Home care Register-ed ECD Programme 0 – 4 year olds Foundation Phase Class Centre based commun-ity services Community Outreach services State Offices Education and Training Institutions Various locations

Recommendations Consultation process with sectoral stakeholders on a South African ECD career lattice including agreeing on the different jobs and determining of experience levels as well as qualifications for the different jobs; resolving issues of horizontal as well as vertical progression especially where there is a cross over of ‘education’ and ‘social welfare’ job functions; negotiating with relevant government departments about different institutional locations for core jobs, management and supervisory roles; putting measures in place to facilitate workers in lower job categories in different institutional settings to progress to higher level jobs.

Recommendations ctd Consider implications of professional registration SACE for those working with children, Council for Social Service Professionals for community and outreach workers Will professionalisation exclude lower skill categories? How can professional councils enable continuing professional development? Alternatively build on current mechanism of ensuring norms and standards by regulation under legislation?

Recommendations ctd Explore sectoral determination for minimum service conditions especially wage levels Job creation schemes in ECD to provide for different ECD job categories including home visitors, childminders, parent educators and playgroup leaders