The 2025 Workforce Report made something unmistakably clear:
educators want to stay in child care — but staying requires a future they can grow into.
Across thousands of responses, educators consistently pointed to learning, training, and professional growth as essential to making this work sustainable long term.
Many educators shared that love for children brought them into the field.
What determines whether they stay is whether they can continue learning and building toward something more.
As one educator shared:
“Up to date trainings and maybe workshops to help teachers grow and learn how to help children more.”
Another put it more directly:
“It means improving working conditions, pay, and emotional well-being so I can stay in the field without burning out. Pay needs to grow with my experience, ideally with benefits, so money stress is not always in the background.”
Growth is not separate from sustainability.
It is a core requirement for it.
Educators repeatedly named training and credentials as a way to feel valued and taken seriously.
“For me, child care becomes more sustainable when I feel respected, supported, and safe in my work environment. Fair pay, good communication, and staffing that allows us to give children the attention they deserve make a big difference.”
Others emphasized access:
“Receiving information on how to get more credentials without getting in debt.”
“Classes that provide the skill set needed to work with different types of children would make a huge difference.”
The message is clear: educators want to improve their craft — but need pathways that are affordable, accessible, and realistic.
One of the strongest findings in the 2025 Workforce Report was educators’ willingness to invest in themselves.
99% said they would take advantage of professional development or training opportunities.
That level of interest tells us something important:
the workforce is not disengaged. It is under-supported.
“Having better pay, consistent work hours, and access to professional development opportunities would make child care a more sustainable career for me and others.”
“I think having a supportive team is the most sustainable solution for a child care career. Most people leave because they don’t feel supported or appreciated.”
When growth opportunities exist, educators are more likely to:
Educators were also clear that how learning is offered matters just as much as whether it exists.
They want:
As one educator shared:
“A more sustainable child care career would include funded training, paid professional development, benefits like PTO and health coverage, and long-term growth opportunities.”
Learning cannot require sacrifice without support.
Otherwise, it becomes another barrier.
The future of child care depends on whether educators can see themselves growing in the field — not just surviving in it.
The Workforce Report shows that stability will come from:
“Just keep doing what you’re doing — giving teachers the opportunity and tools to grow.”
Educators are ready to build their future in child care.
The question is whether the system will meet them there.
👉 Read the full Workforce Report
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