Qualified Teacher From Overseas - Working As A Trainee

[erikawilson081012]

Hi,

I'm Erika ,22 and a newbie here, also in the field of childcare. I'm from new south wales but originally I'm from the Philippines. I moved in here 3 months ago.I was a licensed teacher back in the Philippines and taught for just 2 years. Since I gained a diploma in Elementary (Primary in OZ) Education back home, I thought of using it in applying for jobs. Unfortunately I found out that my certificates will not be recognized until I seek some help from an agency who can assess my documents. I got few information about it and learnt that I have to pay for $300-$500 for it to be assessed and recognized here.So I decided to just forget about it.I thought it would be better to find a childcare traineeship job than for me to pay that big amount and I am not even sure about the result. So I started looking for childcare traineeships 2 weekd ago. I was invited for job interview yesterday and luckily it went alright. After 3 hours, the childcare facility called me and offered the job. It's a child care certificate 3 traineeship. Now, I have few questions about my employment as I am new to this and new to this country. I don't want to directly ask the company about it as well as I'm shy. My questions are:

I am from nsw, and Im 22, I will be doing a certificate 3 traineeship , i finished high school in the PHIL last 2007 (I was 16 years old that time) and we have a different educational system. How much do you think will I be earning?

I also passed the licensure examination for teachers in the Philippines already, meaning I am a qualified and licensed teacher. I had 2 years experience as a teacher as well. Do you think they will consider that and give me a better pay as a trainee? Im not expecting really big, but $9-$11 , as what I've researched, sounds wrong.

So , if it's not much of a hassle , would you mind helping me clear these confusions I have in mind? Thank you.

[Lorina]

Congratulations on your new job!

OK, so for a childcare traineeship as per my understanding the minimum wage you can earn is $15.86/ per hour. This means you will be paid at least this amount as the minimum or even more depending on the centre.

If you wanted to be recognized as a licensed teacher then you will have to get your qualifications assessed. I completely understand that this is quite expensive to do, however it may be worth it to see what the outcome is. I mean if you get recognized then you don't have to worry about doing a traineeship, being an assistant and working your way up. You can automatically start as a group leader or even work at schools if that's what you get recognized for.

I think it's a waste for the diploma you gained in the Philippines and now you have to come here and start all over again in exactly the same field. You sure you don't want to get your qualification assessed?

,
L.A

[fchaudari76]

I understand the frustration of having overseas qualifications assessed. I have a Diploma of Montessori Education from Pakistan and had to have it assessed. It did cost me a bit to get it assessed but it meant a 10% pay rise for me + since I did it for work I retained the receipt and can claim it back when I do my taxes.
It may mean you can get jobs as a Diploma qualified Group Leader which will mean you getting paid at least $21 or so which is a LOT more than the $15 you will get as a trainee worker.
I say hold off on your traineeship until you get your qualifications assessed.

[erikawilson081012]

Hi L.A.,

Thanks for the information. So $15.86 is the minimum hourly rate if you're doing a childcare traineeship in NSW? All the info about the hourly wage I got out from doing self-research were like $9-$11 and I think that's too low for an adult rate. Knowing $15.86 is the minimum, I'm a bit relieved. LOL

My husband and I already discussed about it and yeah I think I'll give it a try. We'll probably lodge it next month. I will still do the traineeship as I also want to gain better experience in Child Care, though I taught for almost 2 years in the Philippines, It was a different experience and I taught older children. Maybe, I'll do the traineeship and as soon as I get the result, I'll try to inform the Childcare Facility about it. I actually don't expect them to give me a pay rise, as I believe that that's why they were hiring for childcare trainees is because they want to lessen their expenses in giving out salaries.

But yeah, thanks for the info about the hourly wage. I'm happy to know it's a little higher than what I expected. I just hope they will really pay that amount. I'll be so sad if they pay $10.lol I will still do the traineeship though. hehe.

[fchaudari76]

Again from my experience & knowledge of others in yr situation I'd be surprised if your qualification would be matched to the same here. I know ppl who have degrees in education from overseas and they cannot teach here because the standards aren't the same.
Unfortunately because of where u got yr qual determines a lot of how well and equally be matched to an Aussie qual and sadly a lot of countries do not meet the criteria and the Phillipines may be one

[erikawilson081012]

I understand the frustration of having overseas qualifications assessed. I have a Diploma of Montessori Education from Pakistan and had to have it assessed. It did cost me a bit to get it assessed but it meant a 10% pay rise for me + since I did it for work I retained the receipt and can claim it back when I do my taxes.
It may mean you can get jobs as a Diploma qualified Group Leader which will mean you getting paid at least $21 or so which is a LOT more than the $15 you will get as a trainee worker.
I say hold off on your traineeship until you get your qualifications assessed.

Hi Fefe,

Oh, finally, I found someone who's on the same boat. It's true , it's really frustrating to know nothing about where I can start my career as my qualifications aren't recognized in here the same way it was recognized in my country.

As I told L.A. , I will still do the traineeship because I want to learn more about Childcare as it wasn't exactly the same with what I did back home. I taught older children and it's a bit different compared to childcare. I will get my qualifications assessed as it will surely benefit me in my future jobs or even in my current job (not sure about the latter) .But yeah, I will surely give it a go prolly next month. Thanks for the info by the way, I will also keep the receipt and try to claim it back .

Since I'm really really NEW in OZ , I just wanna feel comfortable and try to finish this traineeship first, or should I get my qualifications assessed already, I might try to negotiate with the company and see if they can offer me something better (fingerscrossed).

Yeah you are right. That's the thing I scare the most, If I pay the amount and a get a shitty result. We have a different educational system in the Philippines so I don't know if I get the same result as yours. I might still end up doing the cert 3 traineeship. But, my husband insisted and we will try to get my educational documents assessed.

[erikawilson081012]

I understand the frustration of having overseas qualifications assessed. I have a Diploma of Montessori Education from Pakistan and had to have it assessed. It did cost me a bit to get it assessed but it meant a 10% pay rise for me + since I did it for work I retained the receipt and can claim it back when I do my taxes.
It may mean you can get jobs as a Diploma qualified Group Leader which will mean you getting paid at least $21 or so which is a LOT more than the $15 you will get as a trainee worker.
I say hold off on your traineeship until you get your qualifications assessed.

Hi Fefe,

Oh, finally, I found someone who's on the same boat. It's true , it's really frustrating to know nothing about where I can start my career as my qualifications aren't recognized in here the same way it was recognized in my country.

As I told L.A. , I will still do the traineeship because I want to learn more about Childcare as it wasn't exactly the same with what I did back home. I taught older children and it's a bit different compared to childcare. I will get my qualifications assessed as it will surely benefit me in my future jobs or even in my current job (not sure about the latter) .But yeah, I will surely give it a go prolly next month. Thanks for the info by the way, I will also keep the receipt and try to claim it back .

Since I'm really really NEW in OZ , I just wanna feel comfortable and try to finish this traineeship first, or should I get my qualifications assessed already, I might try to negotiate with the company and see if they can offer me something better (fingerscrossed).

Yeah you are right. That's the thing that scares me the most, If I pay the amount and a get a shitty result. We have a different educational system in the Philippines so I don't know if I can get the same result as yours. I might still end up doing the cert 3 traineeship. But, my husband insisted and we will try to get my educational documents assessed.

[fchaudari76]

https://aei.gov.au/services-and-resourc ... fault.aspx
This may help. Its $295 for one - two qualifications to be assessed

http://www.skillsrecognition.nsw.gov.au - maybe this can be of some help to you too

[erikawilson081012]

Hi everyone,

Today is really not a good day for me. I got a call from the Director of the childcare facility where I will be working with soon. She told me a very disappointing news and that is about me being ineligible for the traineeship because of my visa status. I am currently holding a visa subclass 309-provisional visa , meaning i am only a temporary resident and will become a permanent resident after 2 years from the time I lodged my visa application which was last Nov.29,2012. I've been here for only 6 months and according to the State Training Services, commonwealth might not fund me with my traineeship as I am still considered as a temporary resident. This is definitely upsetting as they don't have uncertain answers on this. I am really worried as I absolutely want the job and traineeship is the only thing I can do to start this career. I can't wait for 1 and a half year and do nothing or apply for a different position as I don't have any other qualifications aside from teaching. Even applying as a cleaner, I have to have a certificate. I've been doing nothing very productive since I got here and boredom is killing me. I have been waiting for this break and it's falling apart now.I am not sure now if I'll be able to work or not. I don't know what to do now.

[erikawilson081012]

Visa subclass 309 is a SPOUSE/PARTNER visa. I married an Australian citizen that's why I am here.

[fchaudari76]

I would get your qualifications assessed asap and then find a job that is not a traineeship or enrol to do your study through a TAFE directly and just find some casual work while you do that study.

Partner temporary visa (subclass 309)
you are permitted to enter or remain in Australia with your partner, until a decision is made regarding your permanent visa
you are entitled to work in Australia
you are entitled to study in Australia, but you will not have access to government funding for tertiary study
you may enrol in Australia's medical benefits expenses and hospital care scheme, Medicare.

It just means anything that has government funding you cannot access so you can work. Just not a traineeship. As I said seeing this you should get your existing quals assessed and go from there
It may mean you have a Diploma and then can get a perm job as a Group Leader.

[Lorina]

I'm sorry to hear that the traineeship didn't work out for you. I know you were very excited and looking forward to it...

Listen you still have options. You can still study a certificate 3 through TAFE or another provider. You may not be able to get a traineeship but you can still do the Certificate 3 course through an institute. You can do it online, correspondence, at a campus, full time or part time. If you want you can even do casual work (through an agency to gain experience) and complete your cert 3 at the same time. However, you will need to pay for the certificate 3 course yourself... I know you miss out on the traineeship now but once you have gained your cert 3 qualification, when you become a permanent resident you can do the diploma as a traineeship instead...

There are always other options available...

,
L.A