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retraining
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:26 am
by lis84
Hi,
I'm actually a high school art teacher(aged 27) thinking of retraining in childcare. Finding it too hard to get full time work teaching and i know childcare is booming. I just want regular work.I know i will have to start from the bottom again but thats OK. Just wondering if i should apply for a traineeship or do the course by correspondence and get it over with quicker. I'm just thinking $$ wise, at the moment i'm not getting any casual work so i'm stressing what action to take next. Also what is the minimum time you could complete a cert3 by correspondence?? I see private training places have 10 week courses being offered for cert3 but they have started already for the year.
Re: retraining
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:51 pm
by Lorina
Hello Lis,
Welcome to the forum 
!
In regards to your situation you do have a couple of options to think about:
If you choose to apply for a traineeship it will take you a year to complete it. However if you decide to complete your cert 3 by correspondence, you could complete it in 6 months. You can also complete it in a shorter amount of time if you push yourself to do it. When doing a traineeship your work will normally pay for your course (you may have to pay an enrollment fee, however depending on the centre they might pay the enrollment fee for you). When doing a course via correspondence you will need to pay the course fee and it’s expensive compared to TAFE and a traineeship. I paid over $3,500 for my diploma course via correspondence, but if you want to do it in a shorter amount of time there is a BIG price to pay 
.
At the moment child care centers are still able to employ you even though you don’t have a qualification. However, this will be changed over the next couple of years when the Australian government proposes that all childcare professionals MUST have at least a certificate 3 to work in the early childhood industry. You could try finding full time work in a childcare centre and study at the same time through correspondence. It will definitely help you in understanding the assignments better and you will gain experience. Most child care centers will be happy to employ someone who is currently studying towards a qualification.
Have you thought about if you want to continue on to do a diploma or ECT? I was just wondering if you have done a bachelor of education. Because I think you may be able to do a bridging course at uni to be eligible for a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). As an ECT (early childhood teacher) in the childcare industry you will be able to work in preschools, better $$ and be given more responsibility etc… Just something to think about.
In my opinion I would do full time study via correspondence. You could still work casually (a couple of days a week or more if you can) and complete the course in a shorter amount of time, then begin working at a centre. If you choose to do a traineeship under contract you need to stay at the centre for a year even if you end up finishing your cert 3 in a less amount of time…
Hope this provides you with a clearer understanding.
Please let me know if you require any further help,
Cheers 
L.A
Re: retraining
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:20 pm
by parth
At the moment child care centers are still able to employ you even though you don’t have a qualification. However, this will be changed over the next couple of years when the Australian government proposes that all childcare professionals MUST have at least a certificate 3 to work in the early childhood industry. You could try finding full time work in a childcare centre and study at the same time through correspondence. It will definitely help you in understanding the assignments better and you will gain experience. Most child care centers will be happy to employ someone who is currently studying towards a qualification.
Re: retraining
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:36 pm
by fchaudari76
You can easily do a Cert III through TAFE correspondence while working
If you have experience with children & have a degree with even some units of education you can probably RPL some of your units which will decrease the workload & cost as RPL units are free
Call a TAFE & talk to someone in the Children's Services dept .... they will be able to tell you the best path and whether u can RPL some units
I am not sure about a Cert III but the Dip has govt. funding so you only pay $40/unit