ECEC educators set to benefit from Skilling South Australia projects

45 early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators in South Australia will benefit from funded training to further develop their skills, and meet the workforce needs of the growing sector, SA Minister for Innovation and Skills, David Pisoni has announced.

Two new Skilling South Australia projects worth more than $135,000 were announced at a Childcare Industry Roundtable, held late last week, to discuss the ECEC sector’s workforce requirements and explore innovative options to strengthen training.

Mr Pisoni outlined the emerging needs of the ECEC sector, saying thousands of additional educators with Certificate III and Diploma-level qualifications will be required, driven partly by the 120 new childcare centres proposed for South Australia over the next 18 months.

Those participating in the Skilling South Australia projects will earn either a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care or a Diploma of School Aged Education and Care.

The projects, Mr Pisoni said, have been established to enable the use of apprenticeships and traineeships in a field where these training models have not historically been used. Through the funding, it is hoped that workforce shortages may be addressed, helping job seekers to move into meaningful employment pathways.

The first project is a four-week program for prospective childcare workers, inviting 30 participants to learn the basic skills required to excel in an early learning environment, run by the training arm of the Hessel Group, Enhance Training.

Enhance will deliver the Educare Pre-Traineeship for Early Childhood project, and expects at least 21 participants will continue into a formal traineeship or work placement on completion, earning a Certificate III while employed as a childcare aide.

The second project will focus on upskilling those with existing qualifications, with Child Care Services Training Australia delivering higher-apprenticeships to 15 workers across eight businesses, designed to move those with Certificate III qualifications into the Diploma space.

Child Care Services Training Australia Executive Director Lisa Tregenza works closely with employers, who tell her it’s a ‘constant struggle” to find enough suitably qualified staff to meet the strict child-to-educator ratio.

The number of centres in the state over the past four years has grown exponentially, she said, outlining that the project had been developed in collaboration with employers to maximise the trainees’ opportunities to continue to work in their role whilst moving forward in their career path.

“Businesses support this project as they see this as a means of developing a strong workforce and succession plan.” she added.

The two early childhood education and care (ECEC) focused projects form part of more than 60 Skilling South Australia projects worth more than $11 million currently underway in South Australia.

Co-designed with business and sector/industry, the government funded projects are contributing to creating an additional 20,800 apprenticeship and traineeships over four years.

To learn more about the Skilling South Australia projects, visit the Skilling SA website here.