Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Dear All,

Hi i am a Newbie here and have enjoyed reading this forum.
I am from Indonesia and was a preschool teacher (2-3 years old) for more than 2 years in an International preschool ran by Australian principal and vice principal. I completed a Master degree in Early Childhood Education from MOnash university through a distance learning from Singapore in early 2012. I came to Melbourne, Australia in January 2014 on Work and Holiday Visa and intended to find a casual or contract position in Early Childhood Education field. However, I just found out that Master of Early Childhood Education is actually not intended for teaching, thus that makes me an unqualified teacher in Australia. It breaks my heart as I am so passionate in this field and I have referral letters from both supervisors & colleagues & Parents. According to ACECQA, they did not assess my quality as an educator, they are only assesing my qualifications against the government's requirements. So i guess I can't do much unless I enroll into a Cert 3. I don't mind taking Cert 3 as i believe all the knowledge will be an investment for me anyway.
I did get an offer to be a casual childcare worker but they want me to enroll into Cert 3 as well. However, my visa only allows me to take course that is shorter than 4 months. My questions are:
1. Is there anyone here completed course in 4 months or shorter? If yes, how's it? I was told by the course people that It is possible if i did a self-paced learning as I get to manage the time.
2. I am thinking to do either OTEN or LIVearlychildhood. I read good reviews about OTEN from this forum, how about LIV? Are there any other places that offer cert 3 with possibilities to finish in 4 months?

My two concerns are period of the course and the fees. Any suggestions / advices? It will be very much appreciated

THank you!

Just relaying my personal experience with this--I actually tried to enroll in a self-paced course while I was on a work and holiday visa, and a couple of places said I wasn't eligible due to the four month restriction. I didn't understand why, unless they thought the course was impossible to complete in four months or less. I can't remember the organizations I tried to apply for at the time, but I know it wasn't OTEN or LIV. I never spoke directly to someone, though. If you run into any trouble you might want to call and explain that you have a strong background in early childhood education and would have a relatively easy time going through the course. From the sounds of things it really should be possible to get through it in 4 months if you prioritize it and don't have much else going on.

I'm on a different visa now with unlimited study rights so I don't have this difficulty anymore, but I'd love to know how this turns out for you for future reference! I have a few friends interested in coming over on a work and holiday visa who might be interested in doing a certificate, so it would be good to know.

EDIT: I just went to look at LIV again and in their FAQ they mention that on average their learners complete the course in 100-150 hours. If you were to work on it "full time" at 40 hours a week, that's only 3-4 weeks or something like that, well below the 4-month requirement, giving you lots of room to work part-time too. I also have a copy of their application form, and it doesn't mention a need to see visas or anything like the organizations that I tried to apply to on a work and holiday visa. It does ask your country of origin, but only for "statistical purposes."

Seeing that it should only take 100-150 hours makes me rethink applying later... I might just apply now!

Hi emily. i just called them and yes they say since it is a distance learning, they dont need to see my visa. It applies to HBA learning centre too. And sage and futurum also allow you to take courses with them since they have only 15 weeks course length. However I cant do it with OTEN due to visa restrictions.
My concern with both liv and hba is that they dont require placement. They do however give out assignment that needs to be practical and we can send it in a video format. They suggest that we have access to childcare centre either as volunteer or casual as it will benefit us during the learning and completing the assignment.
I am still trying to talk to other rto and see what their deal are. Will keep you posted

Hi Thalia
You could ask the RTOs if you can apply for RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning). It sounds like you have lots of experience, knowledge and skills. That would make it easy for you to get your qualification quickly and save some money, too.
Good luck
florecita

Hi Florecita

Yeah I actually asked a couple of places about RPL and they don't seem to suggest me on that as they said my workplace is outside Australia and it is hard for them to assess that. Also they said it might take more time to gather all info and fees etc. Almost every places that I ask don't really encourage me to proceed with RPL.

Thank you for the suggestion florecita !;)

Hi Florecita thanks for your private msg..i honestly don't know how to reply to yours as it said I'm not authorised to send private message so I thought i will reply here. Yes I tried calling ACCO and they gave me the number for their course counselor in Victoria. I tried calling her and left her a msg on Friday but she hasn't replied yet. I tried calling to the place this morning but no one picks up. How is your experience so far with them? May i know which state are you in? and also i've been trying to get a quote for the course fee. So far LIV has the lowest price AUD 597.

Hi
I tried to send a private message before and it did not work - but being a "donator" seemed to solve this problem;-)
I just started with ACCCO. So far, they are great. Easy to contact (head office and my teacher). I am enrolled in the "old Diploma course", so I don't know, how much they charge for the Cert III. I haven't heard about LIV yet, but what I like about ACCCO is, that they assign a teacher to you, who visits you regularly at your workplace. I am in ACT.

florecita

Hi Florecita:) I tried calling ACCO and the RPL is actually applied per unit. For example i'm given the first unit and I want to do RPL, so they will send me the assessment kit and I will proceed with that and if i pass so I can go to the next unit but if I'm not I have to enroll the unit. The price per unit with RPL and without RPL is differ by 40 AUD. So I guess it's not that much difference and also it won't really cut back the time. Thank you for your message My best chance will probably go through with LIV and probably will upgrade to the newest Cert 3 later on. They have been the most responsive and has given me clear idea of how the course is going to be run.