A great way to start a career in early childhood is with a traineeship, for existing Educators a traineeship will enable you to develop your knowledge and skills to further your job role. The following article provides information on Traineeship Overview including type of traineeship, eligibility and completion, Units Of Competency, Practical Workplace Requirements and more.
Educators can commence a traineeship at any time of the year and it is subsidised by the NSW Government. There are 7 different traineeships available for new and existing Educators to choose from including:
- CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education And Care
- 10983NAT Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care
- CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education And Care
- CHC50221 Diploma of School-Age Education and Care
- BSB30120 Certificate III in Business
- BSB40120 Certificate IV in Business
- BSB40520 Certificate IV in Leadership and Management
Traineeship Overview
Type Of Traineeship
- CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Eligibility
- must not have completed a qualification via a traineeship
- must not have worked 3 months full-time or 12 months part-time in the early childhood service
Completion
- 18 months full-time
- Up to 36 months part-time (minimum of 15 hours per week)
Type Of Traineeship
- New Entrant CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Eligibility
- must not have worked 3 months full-time or 12 months part-time in the early childhood service
Completion
- 2 years full-time
- Up to 42 months part-time (minimum of 21 hours per week)
Type Of Traineeship
- Existing Worker CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
- New Entrant CHC50221 Diploma of School-Age Education and Care
- Existing Worker CHC50221 Diploma of School-Age Education and Care
Eligibility
- must have worked a minimum of 3 months full-time or 12 months part-time in the early childhood service
- part-time employees required to complete a minimum of 21 hours per week at a service
Completion
- 2 years full-time
- 36 months part-time (minimum of 21 hours per week)
Units Of Competency
- CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education And Care
There are 17 units in total – 15 compulsory units and 2 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- 10983NAT Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care
There are 15 units in total – 12 compulsory units and 3 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education And Care
There are 15 units in total – 12 compulsory units and 3 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- CHC50221 Diploma of School-Age Education and Care
There are 23 units in total – 15 compulsory units and 8 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- BSB30120 Certificate III in Business
There are 13 units in total – 6 compulsory units and 7 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- BSB40120 Certificate IV in Business
There are 12 units in total – 6 compulsory units and 6 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
- BSB40520 Certificate IV in Leadership and Management
There are 12 units in total – 5 compulsory units and 7 elective units must be completed for this qualification.
Practical Workplace Requirements
As part of your traineeship, you must complete the practical workplace requirements. If the service where you are employed does not have children in all of the necessary age groups, you will be required to do short practicums at other services to prove competency.
CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care – 160 hours
- twenty (20) hours working with Birth—12 month olds
- twenty (20) hours working with 13—23 month olds
- forty (40) hours working with 2—3 year-olds
- eighty (80) hours working with 3—5 year-olds.
10983NAT Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care
- 320 hours – 6-12 years – School age
CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care – 240 hours
- forty (40) hours working with Birth—23 month olds
- forty (40) hours working with 2—3 year-olds
- eighty (80) hours working with 3—5 year-olds
- forty (40) hours — this can be in any age group which must include a child with additional needs
- eighty (80) hours in service management.
CHC50221 Diploma of School Age Education and Care – 280 hours
- two hundred (200) hours working in School Age Education and Care (i.e. 6—12 year olds)
- forty (40) hours — this can be in any age group which must include a child with additional needs
- forty (40) hours in service management.
BSB30120 Certificate III in Business
- There are practical components within each unit of competency that, to be completed, require students to be working or to undertake Practicum Hours within an Education and Care Services. Hours may vary depending on the student’s current skills, knowledge and experience, however, a suggested guide is 10 hours per unit.
BSB40120 Certificate IV in Business
- There are practical components within each unit of competency that, to be completed, require students to be working or to undertake Practicum Hours within an Education and Care Service. Hours may vary depending on the student’s current skills, knowledge and experience, however, a suggested guide is 10 hours per unit.
BSB40520 Certificate IV in Leadership and Management
- There are practical components within each unit of competency that, to be completed, require students to be working or to undertake Practicum Hours within an Education and Care Service. Hours may vary depending on the student’s current skills, knowledge and experience, however, a suggested guide is 10 hours per unit.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Recognition of Prior Learning is an assessment process where candidates provide evidence of previous experience to demonstrate that they hold the required skills and knowledge of one or more units of competency. Previous experience may include (but is not limited to) paid or voluntary work, life experience, professional development or formal qualifications.
RPL is suited to candidates who have demonstrated experience in an education and care service or equivalent.
Study Time
It is strongly recommended that your workplace allocate 3 hours of paid off-the-floor study time per week for completing research, activities and assessments in the workplace.
Fees
Tuition fees are not payable for New Entrant trainees.
Existing Worker Fees - The employer and student must come to a mutual agreement as to who is responsible for the payment of fees.
Trainee Rates In The National Training Wage Schedule
A traineeship consists of a combination of training and paid employment, under the National Training Wage.
The National Training Wage (NTW) schedule in the Miscellaneous Award lists minimum rates for most award-covered trainees.
A trainee's minimum rate in the NTW schedule is based on the:
- wage level for the traineeship they're doing
- highest year of school they've completed
- number of years they've been out of school
Adult trainees
An adult trainee is a trainee who would qualify to be paid the highest minimum wage in wage level.
Please note: Existing Worker traineeships do not affect an employee’s current salary or employment conditions during the traineeship.
For more information: Traineeships NSW
References:
NSW Traineeship Information Handbook, Early Childhood Education and Training
Miscellaneous Award 2020, Fairwork Australia
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