Building Bright Futures has created several fact sheets and flyers that you can download and use when talking to others about the inititiave.
About BBF
Recruitment Flyers
Career Pathways
Here you can find helpful videos and slides BBF has used for various presentations. We also interview our participants and partners to shine a light on potential careers, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and all things early childhood.
McDowell County Schools was one of the first organizations in North Carolina to register pre-apprentices, and an inspiration for creating Building Bright Futures. Learn more about their experiences! December 2021
Building Bright Futures presented at the Smart Start National Conference in Greensboro, NC in April 2023. Joined by ApprenticeshipNC, the NC Department of Public Instruction, and Surry-Yadkin Works, the team discussed the basics of early childhood education apprenticeships, the importance of pre-apprenticeships, perspectives from a pre-apprentice and her mentor and coach, and how Building Bright Futures is a key partner and supporter of their work. April 2023
Want to hear from people involved with early childhood education apprenticeship programs? Take a look at some of our Spotlight videos!
You can find recordings of Early Years' Mentoring for Pre-Apprentices and Apprentices (M.A.P.P.) webinars in the Participant Pages here.
There are a variety of funding resources available for early childhood education students, apprentices, and employers. BBF is designed to support services and costs that these programs do not, so please explore these options before requesting financial support from BBF. We include links below to some of the most commonly used resources, but don’t forget to consider local or regional sources such as:
EMPLOYERS
Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC)
The Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC) promotes developing, launching, and expanding Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs to support and sustain a diverse, inclusive, well-qualified, and well-compensated early childhood education (ECE) workforce. A strong, inclusive, and robust early childhood ecosystem contributes to the health and well-being of young children and their families, as well as the broader economy. As a U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL)-funded Early Childhood Education RA Industry Intermediary, ECWC provides customized technical assistance, including help with curriculum development, outreach and recruitment, mentor training, accessing available funding, and much more. ECWC provides these services to early childhood program employers, state and local agencies, community organizations, higher education institutions, sponsors, current early childhood educators, and career seekers – all at no cost.
Building Bright Futures hosted a webinar in October 2024 introducing the ECWC as an additional resource. View the presentation slides below.
ECWC Webinar Slides - October 2024
Career and College Promise
Career & College Promise (CCP) is North Carolina’s dual enrollment program for high school students. This program allows eligible NC high school students to enroll in college classes at North Carolina community colleges and universities through their high school. If a student’s high school does not offer early childhood education classes, the student can take these classes, without cost, through CCP.
Youth Apprenticeship Waiver
Available through ApprenticeshipNC and the NC Community College System, this waiver allows students who begin qualifying apprenticeship programs before graduating high school to continue the apprenticeship program after high school graduation with community college tuition waived. Qualifying students must apply within 120 days of their high school graduation date.
Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA)
Completing the FAFSA provides students with access to various financial aid resources, such as grants, work-study, and loans. The FAFSA for each upcoming year is released the previous fall.
Early Years (formerly CCSA) Programs
Whether you’re in need of educational scholarships, wage and scholarship support, technical assistance and professional development or help with providing healthy beginnings in your child care program—Early Years programs make it easy for those working with young children to get support locally, statewide and nationally.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market, and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. If you are seeking assistance with career services and support for education/training under WIOA, please contact your local NCWorks Career Center through NCWorks.gov.
NC Promise
Associate degrees in Early Childhood Education can be the first step toward a four-year degree, and through NC Promise, the state has significantly reduced the student's tuition cost to $500 per semester at four UNC System institutions:
Find links to helpful information from our partners and other sources, including useful tools and more early childhood education resources, information, and news.
Do you have a resource you would like our Building Bright Futures community to know about? Contact megan.johnson@nc.gov.
What is a Sponsor? What is the difference between BBF and ApprenticeshipNC? Sponsor and Employer? There are many terms associated with a registered apprenticeship program, which may be confusing if you’re not familiar with them. We’ve broken it down and defined the most common terminology, so you can see how each piece of the apprenticeship program fits together.
APPENDIX D – This document is completed by an Employer who wishes to join an existing apprenticeship agreement overseen by a Sponsor. It outlines basic information about the Employer, including its progressive wage scale, minimum hiring requirements, and number of journeyworkers (defined below).
APPRENTICE – This person is at least 16 years old, and can be an incumbent worker, a new hire, or a high school student. Youth apprentices are typically high school students or 16-24 years old. The apprentice registers with an apprenticeship agreement approved by ApprenticeshipNC.
APPRENTICESHIPNC – Tise state agency, part of the North Carolina Community College System, writes and registers all pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship agreements for Federal purposes.
APPRENTICESHIPNC CONSULTANT - This person works for ApprenticeshipNC and is responsible for registering the apprenticeship program and apprentices.
COMPETENCY CHECKLIST – This checklist, also called the Work Process Schedule, is the key element of the apprenticeship agreement’s on-the-job learning component. It outlines the important skills that an apprentice is expected to learn by completion of their apprenticeship. The checklist is customized by the Employer, but is typically based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Early Childhood Educator Work Process Schedule template.
CONTACT HOURS – An Early Childhood Educator apprenticeship requires a minimum of 144 contact hours per 2,000 on-the-job learning hours. Contact hours refer to the number of hours of actual classroom attendance for Related Instruction and does not equate to credit hours for a course or training.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION – For Building Bright Futures, this term refers to the care and education of children age birth until age 5, including NC Pre-K.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS – These organizations provide the related instruction component of the apprenticeship, and can include high schools, colleges, vocational schools, in-house training, and others.
EMPLOYER – The organization that employs an apprentice. An Employer can also be a Sponsor.
FUNDING SOURCES – These includes resources for covering education, wraparound services, and other costs, including scholarships, government assistance, financial aid, and grants.
JOURNEYWORKER – A journeyworker is a person that holds the qualifications outlined in an apprenticeship agreement (they don’t have to have been an apprentice before).
MENTOR – When referring to an apprenticeship agreement, a mentor is the employee assigned to guide an apprentice through the learning process and impart knowledge and skills. The mentor may or may not be the same person that is responsible for the apprentice’s day-to-day supervision, but must work on-site.
NCBCE – North Carolina Business Committee for Education. NCBCE is a non-profit, non-partisan organization housed in the Office of the Governor since 1983. It connects NC employers and educators to help build and elevate the workforce through work-based learning. NCBCE received a grant from DHHS/DCDEE to pilot the Building Bright Futures initiative.
PRE-APPRENTICE – A pre-apprentice is a person working toward the goal of being an apprentice. In early childhood education, this is typically a high school student who is registered with the Department of Public Instruction’s statewide agreement. A pre-apprentice must be at least 16 years old. The pre-apprenticeship is optional and not a prerequisite to apprenticeship.
PROGRESSIVE WAGE SCALE – This is the wage scale identified by the employer, designed to increase the pay of the apprentice as they gain new skills. It includes: 1) a starting wage, that must be above minimum wage and at least 50% of the final wage; 2) at least one increase at the halfway point; and 3) and a final journeyworker wage.
REGISTERED/REGISTRATION – “Registered” can have several meanings, but primarily refers to a person or organization who is part of an ApprenticeshipNC-approved agreement (e.g., “John is a registered apprentice with XYZ Center.”). It is also used to describe the agreement that has been approved by ApprenticeshipNC (e.g., “XYZ Center is part of the Jordan County registered apprenticeship.”).
Registration with Building Bright Futures is different, and merely refers to an organization that has signed up with BBF to receive the initiative’s resources.
RELATED INSTRUCTION – Also sometimes referred to as “Related Technical Instruction.” This term refers to the specific training or classes required for a pre-apprentice or apprentice to complete, as defined in an apprenticeship agreement. This component also identifies what educational institutions should be used for that related instruction. The Related Instruction lists each class or training and how many contact hours it provides.
SPONSOR – The organization that oversees the employers that are part of the agreement. The Sponsor does not need to be an Employer that hires apprentices. An employer can be its own sponsor.
WORK PROCESS SCHEDULE - This document, also called a Competency Checklist, is the key element of the apprenticeship agreement’s On-The-Job Learning component. It outlines the important skills that an apprentice is expected to learn by completion of their apprenticeship. The US Department of Labor provides a sample checklist for all apprenticeable occupations. The checklist is customized by the Employer, with the intent of making it their own unique document.
