education and learning for people of all ages training, including first aid, in order to work as an early childhood educator? No From 1 January 2014, early childhood educators will be required to hold, or be working towards, an approved qualification as determined by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. A Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care is the approved entry level qualification to work in this sector. The Certificate III in School Aged Education and Care is the entry level qualification for outside of school hours care. The idea of training can be daunting for some job seekers, and employment services consultants and careers advisors should consider whether foundation skills in literacy, communication and learning need to addressed before the job seeker is willing to consider entry level training for the child care and early learning sector. The Foundation Skills training package offers qualifications at the Certificate I and II level, including Certificate I in Skills for Vocational Pathways, Certificate I in Access to Vocational Pathways, and Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. Discontinue And/or Consider qualifications from the Foundation Skills training package Unsure From 1 January 2014, early childhood educators will be required to hold, or be working towards, an approved qualification as determined by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. A Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care is the approved entry level qualification to work in this sector. The Certificate III in School Aged Education and Care is the entry level qualification for outside of school hours care. Employment services consultants and careers advisors should consider whether foundation skills in literacy, Continue
communication and learning need to addressed before the job seeker is willing to consider entry level training for the child care and early learning sector. The Foundation Skills training package offers qualifications at the Certificate I and II level, including Certificate I in Skills for Vocational Pathways, Certificate I in Access to Vocational Pathways, and Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. 4 Comfortable doing a variety of different types of work Are you able to undertake a variety of work (ranging from light lifting and outdoor work through to completing forms and reading documents)? Early childhood educators undertake a wide variety of tasks and activities in the course of a day’s work. Yes No feedback required. Continue No If you have any concerns or are unsure about your capacity to undertake the required variety of tasks, please discuss your circumstances with an appropriate person (such as a careers advisor or employment consultant). Continue Unsure Minor workplace adjustments can be made to address individual worker needs (eg. a ladder might be installed for toddlers to climb to a nappy change table with assistance rather than the worker being required to lift children, or policy documents might be provided in an enlarged typeface for a worker with a visual impairment). If you have any concerns or are unsure about your capacity to undertake the required variety of tasks, please discuss your circumstances with an appropriate person (such as a careers advisor or employment consultant). Continue 5 Values early childhood education The child care and early learning sector is going through a period of reform to improve outcomes for children. Do you think working with children would be a Yes No feedback required. Continue No If you think strongly that working with children is not the career for you, then speak to your employment services consultant about other career options that may be more suitable to your skills and attributes. Discontinue Unsure Working with children can be a tough job, particularly if you Continue
and need to be flexible to ensure that all the tasks that need to be done are shared by the team. assist you in developing these skills, or you may need to consider other career options. continue. Unsure Speak to your careers advisor or employment services consultant about why you are unsure about the importance of being flexible to changing tasks in the workplace. They may be able to consider training, development or work experience to assist you in developing these skills, or you may need to consider other career options. Consider support with training, development and work experience before making a decision about whether to continue. 6 Flexibility I like doing lots of different tasks throughout my work day Being an early childhood educator requires you to do a variety of tasks throughout the work day, including setting up indoor and outdoor play equipment, packing up at the end of the day, supervising and playing with children, and completing paperwork. Yes No feedback required. No Your careers advisor or employment services consultant may be able to organise work experience placements in a child care and early learning service to allow you to see first-hand the different tasks that early childhood educators do throughout their day. You can also speak to them about other suitable career options. Consider work experience before making a decision about whether to continue. Unsure Your careers advisor or employment services consultant may be able to organise work experience placements in a child care and early learning service to allow you to see first-hand the different tasks that early childhood educators do throughout their day. You can also speak to them about other suitable career options. 7 Motivation I am willing to continually develop my skills to help me do a better job Yes No feedback required. Continue No If you still do not think that you would be willing to continually develop your skills, talk to your Discontinue
2 I am prepared to build good relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds I am prepared to build good relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds No feedback required. Training Core units: CHCECE001 Develop cultural competence CHCECE007 Develop positive and respectful relationships with children I would need some training to support me to build good relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds Training is available to support you to develop positive and respectful relationships with children and their families, and is included in the entry level qualification, Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. Training, LLN support Elective units: HLTHIR403C Work effectively with culturally diverse clients and Foundation Skills: Oral Communication I’m not interested in building good relationships with children and families Training is available to support you to develop positive and respectful relationships with children and their families, and is included in the entry level qualification, Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. Speak to your careers advisor or employment services consultant about options for training, or about other careers to which you may be suited. Consider training and other support before making a decision to continue. 3 I feel confident that I No response required. Training Core units:
I feel confident that I could support children’s play and learning could support children’s play and learning CHCECE011 Provide experiences to support children’s play and learning I would feel confident to support children’s play and learning if I had the right training See Units of competency from Certificate III in Early Childhood and Care to support development Training CHCECE009 Use an approved learning framework to guide practice I do not feel that I would be able to support children’s play and learning Training is available to support you to develop confidence and an understanding of how to engage in play-based learning with children. Speak with your careers advisor or employment services consultant about training available, or about other careers to which you may be suited. Consider training and other support before making a decision to continue Electives: SRCCRO008B Interact positively with infants, toddlers and parents in a recreation environment 4 If a child in my care was involved in an accident or other incident I would be able to report it and fill out the necessary paperwork. I would be able to report the incident to my supervisor and fill out the necessary paperwork No feedback required. Training and work experience Core units: CHCECE002 Ensure the health and safety of children I would need training and support in communication skills and filling out paperwork See Units of competency from Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care to support development Training and work experience HLTAID004 Provide an emergency first aid response in an education and care setting