How to Become an Early Childhood Educator in Quebec

The short answer

To work as an early childhood educator in Quebec, you need to count as a qualified educator under the province's Educational Childcare Regulation. That means holding a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) in early childhood education, or other training the Minister recognizes as equivalent. There is no licence to apply for and no regulator that certifies you: you qualify through your diploma, then you are hired by a CPE or a daycare centre, which must by law keep enough qualified staff on the floor each day.

In French, the diploma is the Diplôme d'études collégiales (DEC) in Techniques d'éducation à l'enfance, and the shorter credential is the Attestation d'études collégiales (AEC) in Éducation à l'enfance. The ministry that sets the rules is the Ministère de la Famille (Ministry of the Family), and a CPE is a centre de la petite enfance (early childhood centre). Those French names appear once here; the rest of this guide is in English.

Early childhood educators in Quebec design, organize, and lead activities that support children's intellectual, physical, and emotional development, and they look after children's safety and well-being. They work in CPEs, daycare centres, kindergartens, organizations for children in difficulty, and family service centres. With several years of experience, educators can move into pedagogical advisor and supervision roles.

What "qualified" means in Quebec

The Educational Childcare Regulation sets the rule in section 22: a childcare staff member holding a diploma of college studies in early childhood education, or any other equivalent training recognized by the Minister, is qualified. When the Minister assesses equivalency, the regulation says the Minister may consider diplomas obtained in Quebec or elsewhere, continuous or refresher training you have completed, and relevant experience you have acquired.

Section 23 then sets the staffing rule that makes qualified status matter to employers: a permit holder must ensure that at least two childcare staff members out of three are qualified and present each day with the children while childcare is provided. If fewer than three staff members are present, at least one must be qualified. A centre therefore needs qualified educators on every shift, and that is why job postings ask for the DEC or a recognized equivalent.

Do not carry the certification-level names used in other provinces into Quebec. British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta each run their own educator certification schemes with named levels; Quebec does not. The only question that matters here is whether you hold the DEC or training the Minister recognizes as equivalent.

Step 1 — Pick the DEC or the AEC

There are two main college routes, and the right one depends on whether you want a full diploma or the fastest path into paid work.

The DEC (Diploma of College Studies) in Early Childhood Education. This is a three-year full-time CEGEP program, program code 322A0, with a new version coded 322A1. It includes a general education component alongside the program courses, and graduates can go on to university study. The Government of Quebec job page for early childhood educators lists the DEC in Early Childhood Education as the main college route, and a CEGEP program page describes it as a three-year dual-track diploma that prepares graduates to work with children from infancy to 12 years of age.

The AEC (Attestation of College Studies) in Early Childhood Education. This is a shorter college attestation focused on the program courses, without the general education component. The Government of Quebec job page lists the ACS in Early Childhood Education, code JEE0K, along with related attestations such as the ACS in education in childhood services (JEE03) and the ACS in techniques d'éducation à l'enfance (JEE0S and JEE1B). The work-study program described in Step 2 leads to an AEC, and its organizers state that moving from the AEC to the DEC is possible if you want further study.

A secondary-level option also exists for school-age childcare: the Skills Training Certificate (STC) in school Daycare Educator, code 4732. That trains you for before- and after-school care, not for work as a qualified educator with young children in a CPE, so do not confuse the two.

Step 2 — Study at a CEGEP, or earn the AEC while you work

The full-time DEC route. Apply to a CEGEP that offers the DEC in Early Childhood Education. Most training programs are offered in French only, according to the Government of Quebec job page, so check the language of instruction before you apply. You need a high school diploma or its equivalent to enter a CEGEP program; confirm the exact admission requirements with the CEGEP you choose, because they vary by college.

The paid work-study AEC route. The Early Childhood Work-Study Program, run by the sector labour committee CSMO-ÉSAC, lets you earn the AEC in Early Childhood Care and Education over 18 months while working. You study part-time each week at a CEGEP and work in a CPE or an educational daycare for 10 to 20 hours a week. Your employer pays you for your working hours and your class hours, and receives financial compensation to cover your salary while you are in class. The course runs in three steps: 49 weeks alternating theory courses and work, including a 90-hour introductory internship; 12 weeks alternating internship and work; and a 32-hour Recognition of Acquired Competencies (RAC) process at the end to validate the last three competencies of the AEC, which you acquired while working.

To join the work-study program you must work in a CPE or an educational daycare registered on the program portal (the program can help you find an employer if you do not have one), be 18 or older when you register, hold Canadian citizenship or valid Canadian permanent resident status, and have a high school diploma or, under certain conditions, Secondary 4 or 5 credits or the equivalent from outside Quebec. For the Winter 2027 cohort, recruitment opens November 16, applications run from November 23 to January 17, 2027, the CEGEP confirms registration between February 1 and February 19, 2027, and classes begin March 15, 2027. Fees are $200 maximum per session.

The RAC route for experienced workers. If you already have years of experience working with children but no diploma, a CEGEP can assess your competencies through Recognition of Acquired Competencies (RAC). The work-study program uses RAC at the end of its course, and the same process is the route for experienced educators to have what they know recognized toward an AEC. Ask a CEGEP that offers the program how its RAC assessment works before you enrol.

Step 3 — First aid and the background check

Two requirements apply to everyone who works with children in a Quebec childcare centre, qualified or not, and your employer will ask for both before you start.

First aid. Section 20 of the regulation requires every childcare staff member to hold a certificate no older than three years showing they completed a minimum 8-hour early childhood first aid course including a component on managing severe allergic reactions, or a minimum 6-hour refresher course updating the knowledge from that course. Keep the certificate current: a certificate older than three years does not meet the rule.

Absence of impediment. Section 4 of the regulation requires an investigation to confirm that no adult working in the facility during childcare hours has an impediment related to the abilities and conduct required for the job. In practice this is a police background check, and the work-study program states that your employer will request it from the police on hiring, along with proof of CPR training. These documents are mandatory for everyone working with children in Quebec.

Step 4 — Find work in a CPE or daycare

Once you hold the DEC or a recognized equivalent, apply directly to CPEs and daycare centres. There is no central application or registry to join. Centres hire against the two-out-of-three qualified staffing rule, so qualified educators are the staff they need most on every shift.

If you do not yet hold the DEC or AEC, you can still start work as an unqualified educator or educator assistant, supporting qualified educators, preparing meals and rooms, and helping with activities. The Government of Quebec job page states that educator assistants need experience with children, and that first aid and CPR training may be required. Working as an assistant is also the way into the paid work-study AEC program, which requires you to be employed in a CPE or educational daycare.

When you apply, bring proof of your diploma, your first aid certificate, and your background check. Ask the employer to confirm in writing that your credential counts as qualified under the regulation, especially if your training was completed outside Quebec or is an AEC rather than a DEC.

Step 5 — If you trained outside Quebec

If you completed early childhood education training in another province or another country, do not assume it counts automatically. The regulation leaves equivalency to the Minister, who may weigh your diplomas, continuous or refresher training, and relevant experience. The practical steps are to contact the Ministère de la Famille or a CEGEP offering the early childhood education program and ask how your training is assessed, and to be ready to complete additional courses or a RAC assessment if your training does not cover the full Quebec program.

This guide gives no advice on whether your training qualifies. That decision is the Minister's, made when your training is assessed.

What the job pays

Job Bank, using Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, puts the Quebec wage for early childhood educators and assistants at a median of $24.00 an hour (low $18.00, high $30.03), updated November 19, 2025, for the 2023–2024 reference period. The Canada-wide median is $22.30 an hour. Pay varies by region — the Montréal median is $24.00 an hour, while Bas-Saint-Laurent is $26.89 — so check the region where you will work, not just the provincial figure.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened pages do not publish a tuition figure for the DEC, so this guide gives none; tuition and fees are set by each CEGEP, and the only fee figure the opened pages state is the work-study program's $200 maximum per session. They do not publish a list or a count of the CEGEPs that offer the DEC or AEC, so this guide names none; the work-study program states only that it runs at many CEGEPs throughout Quebec. They do not publish a processing time for an equivalency assessment, so this guide gives none.

Related guides:

• How to Become an Early Childhood Educator in Ontario — the Ontario route, which runs through a provincial certification scheme with named levels, unlike Quebec.
• How to Become an Early Childhood Educator in Saskatchewan — the Saskatchewan route, through a certificate program and provincial certification.
• How to Become an Early Childhood Educator in British Columbia — the British Columbia route, through the provincial ECE Registry.
• How to Become an Early Childhood Educator in Manitoba — the Manitoba route, through a diploma program and provincial classification.
• How to Start a Home Daycare in Quebec — the route for running a home childcare service in Quebec, which has its own recognition and training rules.

Sources

• Government of Quebec, Early Childhood Educators — the job description, the workplaces, the DEC and AEC program codes, that most programs are offered in French only, and the advancement path to pedagogical advisor and supervision roles.
• Légis Québec, Educational Childcare Regulation — section 22 on who counts as qualified, section 23 on the two-out-of-three qualified staffing rule, section 20 on the first aid certificate, and section 4 on the absence of impediment.
• CSMO-ÉSAC, Early Childhood Work-Study Program — Candidate program — the 18-month paid AEC route, the 49-week, 12-week, and 32-hour RAC steps, the 10 to 20 hours of work a week, the admission requirements, the Winter 2027 dates, and the $200 maximum fee per session.
• Cégep Heritage College, Early Childhood Education — the DEC as a three-year program preparing graduates to work with children from infancy to 12 years of age.
• Government of Quebec, Childcare centres — the CPE and daycare system administered under the Ministère de la Famille.
• Job Bank, Wages for Early childhood educators and assistants — the Quebec median wage of $24.00 an hour (low $18.00, high $30.03) and the Canada median of $22.30, updated November 19, 2025, reference period 2023–2024.