Early childhood teacher career through TAFE

[Emiliya]

Greetings! My name is Emiliya from Bulgaria. Thanks for the very informative forum!

I am interested in pursuing education and a career in early childhood teaching in Australia. I have a bachelor degree in English studies completed here in Bulgaria. Currently preparing for my IELTS exam. Interested in studying in TAFE QLD.

So there's the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care then the Diploma of the same. Certificate is 6 months and Diploma is 1.5 years (18,000 AUD for intl students). So my questions are:

When I complete the Certificate |||, does the time/cost for completing the diploma remain the same? I am asking because as far as I understand, the courses in for the certificate are overlapping with the diploma.

As a student I am allowed to work 40 hours per fortnight when your course is in session, and unlimited hours when your course is out of session. At which point can I start working/practicing?

[Lorina]

Hi Emiliya!

Welcome to Aussie Childcare Network!

Here is some info regarding your questions:

1) You do not need to complete a Cert 3 before doing the Diploma course... you can do the Diploma course directly which has the Cert 3 embedded within. So when doing the Diploma course it takes about 2 years altogether.

2) Once you have enrolled in the course, you can start looking for a position within a childcare setting:

You are considered actively working towards an approved certificate III level qualification if you can provide documentary evidence from the course provider to your approved provider that you are:

enrolled in the course and have started study
making satisfactory progress towards completing the course
meeting the requirements to maintain enrolment.

Ref: Working Towards A Qualification

Let me know if you have further questions! Happy to help!!

,
Lorina