We thank Mr Rowan Lee for his letter, "Make it easier to retain teachers in early childhood education" (July 4), and agree with him on the important role that early childhood educators play in shaping the future of our children.

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) is committed to uplifting the profession and improving career progression for our early childhood educators.

A key effort is to enhance our educators' well-being. Last year, ECDA shared recommendations to help pre-schools improve the well-being and working conditions of early childhood educators. Since then, some pre-schools have implemented these initiatives, such as adopting workplace health programmes to create more supportive work environments and allocating non-contact time for lesson planning.

ECDA also rolled out the Early Childhood Digitalisation Grant last year to help pre-school operators adopt digital solutions to alleviate the workload.

ECDA has also enhanced the professional development opportunities and career pathways for early childhood educators. We refreshed the Skills Framework for Early Childhood and launched the Continuing Professional Development Roadmap last year.

Salaries in the early childhood sector have risen, as early childhood educators have acquired deeper skills and taken on larger job responsibilities. On average, salaries have increased by 17 per cent since 2016, outpacing that of the general market for similar jobs.

ECDA is committed to working with training providers and pre-school operators to attract and retain early childhood educators. We will continue to explore measures to enhance work conditions and career progression.

We encourage more people, including mid-career job seekers, to join the early childhood sector to nurture our next generation. Interested students and mid-career job seekers can visit our Shape Our Tomorrow microsite to find out more.

Cynthia Leow

Director, Policy and Sector Funding

Early Childhood Development Agency