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Human Capital

Introduction to the Human Capital Program

ECA’s Human Capital strategy is focused on ensuring Abu Dhabi has a caring and competent early childhood workforce deeply committed to promoting strong child and family outcomes. To create a common understanding among all stakeholders, the ECA has developed the Early Childhood Development competencies to serve as a shared language on the skills, knowledge and behaviours required from all ECD practitioners. Through our dedicated Human Capital portal, you will be able to access all the latest information on the Human Capital strategy, the detailed ECD competencies as well as relevant tools for students, current practitioners, employers and regulators

What are the motives behind focusing on the Human Capital ecosystem?

Knowledge and experience in Early Childhood Development is not consistently required across ECD-related positions
Poor societal positioning of ECD-related positions limits top talent applicants
Lack of a cohesive education and professional development system for ECD practitioners

Objectives of the Human Capital Program

Improve the quality of ECD practitioners in Abu Dhabi by attracting diverse quality talent to ECD, unifying performance standards, and enhancing the knowledge and skills of the current workforce
Increase the number of high-quality ECD-related education and professional development opportunities that are available and accessible to practitioners
Increase enrolment in ECD-related courses/ college majors/ higher education degrees

Initiatives under the Human Capital Program

Initiative A – Examine the ECD workforce and develop and implement a detailed plan to ensure sufficient human capital to support ECD.

Initiative B – Improve the recruitment, attractiveness, working environment and retention of ECD positions.

Initiative C – Establish policies, standards, and education and training opportunities to ensure a high-quality ECD workforce.

Who are we targeting for the Human Capital Program?

ECD practitioners working with children from 0-8 across the four ECD sectors: Child Protection, Early Childhood Care and Education, Family Support, and Health and Nutrition

What are the outcomes of the Human Capital Program

Higher retention rate for ECD practitioners working in Abu Dhabi across ECD sub-sectors:

Coherent and higher quality education and PD offering for ECD practitioners
Future policies in Abu Dhabi developed with a strong child focus
Expected better availability of high-quality specialized care and services across ECD sub-sectors
Improved desirability of ECD-related jobs leading to higher retention and increased participation of nationals in the ECD workforce

How you can contribute to the Human Capital Program

As members of the Abu Dhabi community, ECD practitioners and parents can help and contribute with creative ideas.

We are open to all suggestions from any person or organization willing to support and improve the Early Childhood Development Human Capital ecosystem

Feel free to reach us via the Get In Touch page or our Social Media channels.

What are the latest updates from the Human Capital program?

The Human Capital team have prepared a newsletter which will be shared on a bi-annual basis featuring some of the latest developments and news.

Inside you will find a range of interesting topics to browse through, including key updates on our initiatives, media highlights, policy updates, and available resources for you to use.

For ECD training providers seeking to obtain the No Objection Certificate as per ACTVET requirements

If you are an ECD training provider seeking to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for submission to ACTVET as part of your application, please note that the ECA Human Capital team have standardized an approach to review all applications
The Human Capital team will review your application against five criteria, including how aligned is the program material to the ECD competencies, staff qualifications and others. You can access the list of detailed criteria here
Once you have reviewed the criteria and prepared the relevant documentation to showcase your adherence to it, please share all the relevant documentation with the following e-mail: HC@eca.gov.ae. Please ensure the subject of the e-mail is: Request of No Objection Certificate (NOC) – Application for Review