Most adult learners take around 300 hours.
To answer the second part first, both the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support are planned to take approximately 6 months (26 weeks or 600 hours). This is based on a student who has no (zero) experience with children and has never worked (in any job in any sector), and has never studied before. Many students will finish much sooner especially those who have their own children (as many of the concepts in these course are relatable and transferrable). Most adult learners take around 300 hours.
For the majority of students, our education support courses are not that difficult although each student (regardless of ability and experience) will still need to dedicate a certain amount of time each week in order to be successful. However, there are no essays to write and the courses are very practical. There is little in the way of memorising facts or technical information.
That is not to say that this course does not take time; even students with plenty of prior knowledge will still need to read through the materials, complete activities, submit assessments and so forth. We try to encourage students to devote at least 10-12 hours per week to their learning.