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Early Learning Council frames workforce development as top priority for childcare supply
Summary
At its May 28 meeting the Early Learning Council prioritized workforce development—pay, career pathways, and training pipelines—as essential to expanding child care supply, hearing from state and local partners about apprenticeships, consortia, and regional strategies.
The Early Learning Council opened its May 28 session by centering workforce development as the critical barrier to expanding child care across Oregon. Chair Sue Miller told members the council would focus the day on “the workforce,” noting that “we can't provide services to kids and families ... without the workforce.”
The meeting featured three panels of state and regional workforce leaders, higher‑education partners and local workforce boards. Presenters described HEC and ODE programs, local registered apprenticeships, behavioral‑health apprenticeship pathways and higher‑education consortia designed to reduce barriers for prospective early childhood educators. Council members repeatedly returned to two practical questions: how to increase compensation and how to create reliable career pathways that keep trained staff in the field.
