The statewide apprenticeship program offers free training for early childhood educators and child care providers.  Graduates of the program are certified as Child Development Specialists by the West Virginia Department of Education and the United States Department of Labor.  Many colleges and universities throughout the state recognize the Child Development Specialist certificate with one year of credit toward an Associates Degree in Child Development.

Coordinated locally by the Child Development Center, our regional program  serves Upshur, Lewis, Barbour, and Randolph Counties.  The four-semester series usually starts new first-semester classes in August of each year.