The childcare course can also be taken online via the https://epedagogie.md/ platform. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports the development of resources for these professional qualifications validation programme and funds the training for job seekers, including refugees from Ukraine. The initiative is carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research.

Now, the course can also be taken online, but with practical lessons that take place with a physical presence. The e-course has been created from scratch, with 50 lessons available in Romanian and Russian. Teachers from three pedagogical colleges participated in the conceptualization of teaching resources.

Until recently, the course could be taken in person at the "Alexei Mateevici" Pedagogical College in Chișinău. The "Mihai Eminescu" colleges in Soroca and "Iulia Hașdeu" in Cahul will accredited in 2024 to include this discipline in the study programme.

From 2019 until now, 67 people have successfully completed the child caregivers’ professional training programme, including 26 refugees from Ukraine. UNDP covered the costs for 41 people.

"By attending childcare courses, I understood that it is not enough to be a parent to be able to care for and educate other children. It requires a lot of knowledge, but also skills, in various fields: the correct nutrition of the child, the organization of child development activities, the hygiene of the places, ensuring the integrity and security of the child, and, most importantly, the prevention of trauma/accidents and the provision of first medical aid. All this information will serve me at work to care for and educate a happy child," says Diana Rotaru, a graduate of the professional training programme for child caregivers at the "Alexei Mateevici" Pedagogical College in Chișinău.

The course for child caregivers addresses issues related to the care of children under the age of 11, their emotional and behavioural development, nutrition, safety, community integration, hygiene, first aid or other medical care for children with disabilities or current illnesses, and other skills required for the profession. It is designed for people who want to obtain a qualification in the field and find a legal job. The training is conducted by teachers with higher medical and pedagogical education. At the end of the programme, participants are given a certificate of confirmation of their new professional qualification. This document is also internationally recognised.  

Through this professional qualifications validation programme, UNDP contributes to the implementation of the National Early Child-Care, which aims to diversify and extend access to early childcare services and thus stimulate parents’ transition to the labour market, particularly for women. The support will improve access to early childcare facilities and services in the public sector. In addition, UNDP will engage with public and private sector stakeholders to extend access to childcare services within the workplace and contribute to improving access in public institutions to childcare facilities and services.

The programme was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Education and Research under with support of UNDP and the Government of Switzerland.