Considering a career in childcare but unsure of the employment opportunities? In Australia job prospects for teachers and early childhood educators are good. According to the annual Childcare Occupations Report released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations”>Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) several roles in the childcare industry such as child care centre managers and childcare worker are in very high demand.
As the report shows, there are currently 17,600 approved child care services operating in Australia (700 more than March 2015) with an enrolled 1.2 million children. This number is expected to increase and childcare employment opportunities to sky rocket in the next five years. This is due to a projected increase in population of children under the age of 13 (833,000 children), requiring an extra 113,000 fully qualified, full-time childcare workers by 2020.
With a formal qualification such as the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care you could join this current booming childcare industry. To be in any of the several roles listed, you are required to have (or to be actively working towards) an approved Certificate III in childcare.
Check out the roles you could soon step into:
Nanny
A Nanny is someone who is employed by a family to care for children in their own home. The role of a general Daily Nanny includes taking care of the children’s physical and emotional needs, dressing them, bathing them, transporting them to and from school, preparing meals, helping them complete homework or extracurricular activities, taking them on outings and reinforcing appropriate discipline. Additional Nanny Responsibilities may include laundry, light cleaning and upkeep.
A Night Nanny, typically trained and experienced in newborn care, is employed to ensure parents stay rested and receive a full night’s sleep. Night Nannies have a background in newborn care involving the soothing, feeding and sleep routine management of infants. Nannies can either be live in or live out; meaning they reside with their host family or return to their home each night.
A Nanny generally works between 3-10 hours a day depending on the family needs E.g: A nanny may only be required to pick children up from school, transport them home and provide afternoon snacks and homework assistance.
Average salary: $31,000 – $53, 999
Au Pair
An Au pair is a young adult who provides safe and reliable live-in care to children in different parts of the world. The difference between a Nanny and an Au Pair is that:
People sign up to be Au pairs to travel and experience another countries culture and language. An Au works 10 hours a day with 2 two days off. These contracts typically last 12-months but in some cases may extend further. During their time off, Au pairs travel short distances, visit local attractions and expand their social and cultural network.
The role of an Au pair is very similar to that of a Nanny however does include the expectation of light housework. In addition, the pay rate for an Au Pair is lower to that of a Nanny’s because they are provided accommodation in family guest rooms or granny flats.
Average salary: Negotiable
Child Care Worker/ Early Childhood Educator
A childcare worker is someone who supervises and cares for children aged between 0-12 years old. They are responsible for meeting the basic needs of children, such as supervising and monitoring their safety, preparing meals and organising meal times, maintaining their general hygiene and engaging them in stimulating educational activities.
A childcare workers role will change depending on the age of the child. For example, in an out of school hours care facility (OSHC), commonly known as After School Care, childcare workers are responsible for collecting the children from class, providing afternoon tea, assisting with homework and leading fun group activities. They must also watch for emotional or developmental changes within children and bring the issues up with parents when they come to collect them.
The National Quality Framework (NQF) also requires Childcare workers to keep records of children’s progress, routine and interests in a daily observations handbook.
Average salary: $37, 280 – 53, 600
Day Care Manager
A Day Care Manager is responsible for staff development, supervision of staff, administration of centre records, and the direct care of children.
In charge of day-to-day operations, the Day Care Manager is responsible for designing the program the day care uses. This program includes a schedule of daily activities to entertain, stimulate and educate the children at the day care, a structured, nutritious meal plan, a consistent and reasonable plan for dealing with disciplinary issues, allergy reaction plans and an emergency evacuation plan.
This program is incredibly detailed and must be up to the National Quality Framework (NQF) standard or the centre can be at risk of being shut down. The Day Care manager is also responsible for ensuring the facility is kept clean and well-organized. Another major responsibility of the Day Care Manager is liaising with parents and teachers about any issues or concerns staff may have with children. They are considered the main point of contact.
Average salary: $49, 700 – $78, 693
Family Day Care Owner
A Family Day Care owner is someone who provides approved childcare services from the comfort of their own home.
A major difference between a family day care and child care centres is the very low child-to-carer ratios, which allows family day care educators and children to develop very strong bonds. In addition, family day care centres provide a unique, one of kind 24/7 child care service for working Australian families with flexible full-time, part-time, weekend or overnight care.
A family day care worker has the same responsibilities of that of a regular child care worker. A family day care owner must provide early education and care for all its children and maintain a program detailing a schedule of daily activities, meal plans, actions for dealing with disciplinary issues and an emergency evacuation plan that aligns with the National Quality Framework (NQF).
Family Day care also has a number of benefits including:
Average salary: $39, 700 – $80,392
Salary figures sourced from www.payscale.com.au. Information is specific to the general industry.
Join Australia’s fastest growing industry today! Start your journey to become a qualified early childhood educator by speaking to a Course Advisor, call us on 1300 236 364 or email us at info@queensford.edu.au
