The budget report for 2005-2008 states a commitment to improving the skills and qualifications of the childcare workforce by increasing the proportion of early years, childcare and support staff meeting qualification requirements from 66 per cent in September 2003 to 85 per cent by January 2009.
Alice Sharp, owner of training organisation Experiential Play, welcomed the goal. She said, 'On the whole I think it's a very positive thing because it raises the profile of the sector.'
But she warned that there was a risk of losing valuable, older experienced staff who do not hold relevant qualifications.
And she added that it might be a challenge for some areas of Scotland to meet the commitment by the 2009 deadline.
The Executive also said that it would maintain free part-time nursery places for every three- and four-year-old and would explore 'further options for expansion of universal or targeted early years provision'.
It also pledged to increase investment in childcare services in disadvantaged areas.
Finance minister Andy Kerr added that the Executive would fully fund an increase in the number of teachers in Scotland to 53,000 to deliver its promise for lower class sizes of 'one for every 18 Scots between the ages of three and 18'.