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The workforce expansion comes as infant care fees are set to fall to S$300 a month for every Singaporean child, with ECDA also widening hiring and training support.
Singapore is set to hire 1,800 more infant care educators by 2030 as demand for infant care is expected to rise alongside efforts to make services more affordable for families.
As reported by The Straits Times, to support the hiring push, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will expand its Manpower Hiring Grant (MHG) from September 2026, Goh Pei Ming, Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development said on 28 August.
He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Teachers’ Day celebration at E-Bridge Pre-School @ Sumang Lane.
The expanded grant, according to The Straits Times, will provide funding support for eligible local and foreign trainees who enrol in early childhood courses in Singapore. Under the scheme, trainees are hired by an employer while they study and receive training for the job.
From September, training stipends under the MHG will also cover infant care certification, including the Assistant Infant Educator and Fundamentals Certificate in Infant Care courses.
The funding support will be extended by three years, running until 31 December 2030.
Lower fees expected to lift demand for infant care
The workforce plans come as the Government prepares to make preschool and infant care more affordable.
At the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the Government aims to bring full-day childcare fees down to S$150 a month and infant care fees to S$300 a month for every Singaporean child, regardless of household income.
Lower-income families will continue to receive additional subsidies. The fee reductions will be introduced progressively over several years, as the Government first needs to significantly expand the network of government-supported preschool operators.
As the network grows, fees will be reduced progressively.
The Government also plans to expand student care capacity, improve the quality of care and keep fees affordable. For the infant care sector, greater affordability is expected to translate into higher demand for places, putting additional pressure on the availability of trained educators.
ECDA looks to existing preschool talent
According to The Straits Times, ECDA highlighted that infant care educators need specialised knowledge and skills to support both the caregiving and developmental needs of infants. To meet the additional manpower needs, the agency is looking beyond new entrants.
More than 2,000 preschool educators already hold qualifications that allow them to work in both infant care and other preschool roles. However, only around 4% of this group were working as infant educators as at August 2026. The majority were working with older children.
ECDA is therefore exploring additional support to encourage more of these qualified educators to move into infant care. Further details will be shared later. The agency will also explore overseas partnerships where needed to widen the pool of suitable candidates.
New support for preschool operators
Manpower is not the only area where ECDA is looking to strengthen capacity. As further reported on The Straits Times, a new grant will be introduced for eligible preschool operators that want to join the government-supported partner operator network. The details are still being worked through, with ECDA engaging the sector on how the grant can support operators making the transition. More details are expected later in 2026.
There are currently 33 partner operators running 380 preschools, which receive government funding support and offer lower fees to families, The Straits Times covered.
Lead image / Senior Minister Goh Pei Ming's Facebook
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