Vancouver Community College offers Early Childhood Care & Education Certificate, a certificate in Education & Teaching programme in Vancouver, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 8,400 per total for local students.
The certificate builds the knowledge and skills needed to specialise in caring for and supporting the development of children aged two to six, inclusively, within licensed early learning settings across British Columbia, equipping graduates for early years practice.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Academic entry is Grade 12 graduation or an equivalent plus English Studies 12 at a minimum 'C' grade or an equivalent, and applicants must be at least 18. The application is not paper-only: you sit an interview with the selection committee, in person or by videoconference, supply two letters of recommendation from people who have worked with you in a relevant professional or academic setting, and evidence 40 hours of volunteering in a licensed childcare facility in British Columbia, verified by an official employer letter. On acceptance you must clear a criminal record check to VCC's instructions — a result indicating risk to vulnerable populations prevents practicum completion and graduation — and submit a negative tuberculosis skin test, or a negative chest X-ray where the skin test is positive. A VCC immunisation record must be completed; immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, influenza and COVID-19 is strongly recommended and can be required by individual practicum placements. VCC states this programme is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents and directs international students to VCC International, which lists separately the programmes open to them.
Application Details
Start Date:January and September intakes. VCC's academic year runs in three terms: Winter (January to April), Spring/Summer (May to August) and Fall (September to December).
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through EducationPlannerBC. VCC publishes this programme's windows term by term on its When to Apply page: Winter 2027 entry (January start) — open 1 February 2026, close 1 October 2026; Fall 2027 entry (September start) — open 1 October 2026, close 1 June 2027. Seats go to eligible applicants in the order their applications are completed, so the programme can close before the listed end date once it fills. An interview with the selection committee, two references and 40 volunteer hours are part of the application, so start well before the close date. VCC's page for this programme states it is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and points international students to VCC International, which lists separately the programmes and intakes open to them; there the application periods open on 1 February, 1 June and 1 October of the previous year for the Winter, Spring/Summer and Fall terms, with no fixed closing date — a programme accepts applications until roughly three to four months before classes begin, or until its seats are gone.
