Those who have worked in various care sectors, understand firsthand the sense of purpose and fulfilment that only comes with carer roles. It can be hard to imagine working in a role that doesn’t offer such meaning to your life.
Having said this, even the most fulfilling careers can sometimes need a shake up or refresh. Career change is a part of the working life journey. They say a change is as good as a holiday, and sometimes a fresh approach to employment can offer a new lease on life.
The good news is that moving from one care sector to another has many benefits to both employees and employers. This along with a huge demand for quality childcare educators, opportunities to work and study at the same time, and government funding options means that now is a great time to consider transferring your skills and experience to the childcare sector.
For a disability or aged care worker with a passion for providing care and a desire for a career change, the childcare sector is a very promising avenue to explore.
At Suzan Johnston we have two Nationally Accredited courses in Childcare.
One of the biggest barriers to changing careers can be the time taken away from paid in employment. The good news is there are options you can take advantage of to minimise or avoid the interruption. The first option is to continue working during the week and commence your childcare course part-time on Saturday mornings.
The other option is to work whilst you study early childhood. At Suzan Johnston Australia we receive calls from employers on a daily basis, asking for our assistance to fill vacancies within their centres. The National Quality Framework (NQF) sets out the minimum educator qualification requirements for working in childcare. It specifies that at least 50% of educators must be Diploma level qualified or higher. All other workers must be Certificate III level or higher. If an individual is ‘actively working towards’ a CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, they may be counted as a Certificate III level educator. Many of our childcare course students are able to secure paid employment from their practical placement – within just weeks of commencing their studies.
Government funding can greatly reduce the childcare course fees. There are currently two types of Government Funding available for childcare students: JobTrainer and Skills First. Working out if you are eligible can be a bit confusing, so please get in touch and we can advise you within minutes.
When embarking on a new career in childcare it’s good to know that your current skill set, your experience and innate qualities as a carer will serve you very well.
The following is a list of some of the transferrable skills and innate qualities which are applicable to all carer careers.
Certain qualifications complement each other very well. Especially when there is a significant overlap in demand for carer roles. This overlap is quite common with disability care and childcare. There are large numbers of young children who live with a disability and may require both types of care. The flexibility of having both disability care qualifications and childcare qualifications will ensure you stand out in the job market as a highly skilled care worker across multiple fields. You can broaden your understanding of both care sectors, while expanding your job opportunities.
There are many benefits, both professional and personal, when changing your carer career over to Childcare.
Professionally you can look forward to:
Personally, you can enjoy:
You can continue to make a difference for those in need of care. All care work is vitally important in the community. If you already have disability or aged care qualification and feel that it’s now time for a change over to childcare, we can support you.
Contact us today to learn more about our child care courses and the government funding options available to you.
