Grade 12 or Mature Student Status (19 years of age or more).
Language Proficiency Requirements:
To demonstrate language proficiency, applicants must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Option 1: Secondary Education Evidence that three years of full-time secondary education (Grades 8-12) have been successfully completed in English in a country where English is one of the principal languages. This includes successful completion of a BC Adult Graduation program.
Option 2: Post-Secondary Education Evidence that two years of full-time post-secondary education have been completed in the program’s language of instruction at an accredited institution in a country where the language of instruction is one of the principal languages. Language development (ELL) courses cannot be included.
Option 3: Standardized Language Test Achievement of minimum scores on a recognized standardized language test:
| Name of English language assessment/test | Minimum score(s)/level(s)* |
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic | Minimum overall score of 5.5 |
| Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) IBT | Minimum overall score of 46 |
| Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL) | Minimum overall score of 40 |
| Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) | Listening 6, Speaking 6, Reading 5, and Writing 5. |
| Duolingo English Test (DET) | Minimum overall score of 95 |
| Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic | Minimum overall score of 43 |
Cambridge English Qualifications: B2 First exam (FCE)
Institutions may include other Cambridge Qualifications at a higher level (i.e., C2 Proficiency (CPE)). | Minimum overall score of
160 or “C” |
| Cambridge Linguaskill | Minimum overall B2 level |
| LANGUAGECERT Academic | Minimum overall B2 level |
| The Michigan English Test (MET) | Minimum overall B2 level |
| iTEP Academic | Minimum overall score of 3.5 |
| EIKEN | Minimum placement of Grade Pre-1 |
Validity period of above Language Assessment Tests is two years.
Accepted Countries for Prior Education The following countries are recognized for education completed in English:
| American Samoa | Dominica | Lesotho | St. Kitts & Nevis |
| Anguilla | Falkland Islands | Liberia | St. Lucia |
| – | Fiji | Malta | St. Vincent & the Grenadines |
| Australia | Gambia | Mauritius | Tanzania |
| Bahamas | Ghana | Montserrat | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Barbados | Gibraltar | New Zealand | Turks & Caicos Islands |
| Belize | Grenada | Nigeria | Uganda |
| Bermuda | Guam | Seychelles | United Kingdom |
| Botswana | Guyana | Sierra Leone | US Virgin Islands |
| British Virgin Islands | Ireland | Singapore | USA |
| Canada | Jamaica | South Africa | Zambia |
| Cayman Islands | Kenya | St. Helena | Zimbabwe |
One of the requirements to work as an Early Childhood Education Assistant in a licensed childcare facility in BC is to be certified by the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Registry. The ECE Assistant program offered by Western Community College is not recognized by the ECE Registry. This means that upon graduation, students will have to apply for certification through the ECE Registry’s equivalency process. For more information about the process visit the
ECE Registry website.
