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Your gateway to a rewarding career in a growing industry
Early Childhood Education and Care is an expanding industry for those with a genuine interest and passion in the care and education of young children up to the age of 5 years. The childcare industry is demanding higher qualifications and training from educators in this field to ensure consistently high standards of education and care for children placed in these services. This can be achieved by completing the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.
You'll learn how to interact and foster the development of the children while working within legal requirements and ensuring the children's health and safety are not at risk.
As part of this qualification you will undertake a supervised work placement where you will be able to apply the skills and knowledge you have learned.
You will work closely with children from different backgrounds and cultures and provide care and support for them in various child care situations.
North Metropolitan TAFE is offering early childhood training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and further information can be found on our Koolark Page(opens in a new tab) .
The following people will be entitled to a concession rate on the half price course fees under Lower fees, local skills.
- All students aged 15-24 years
- Persons and dependents of persons holding:
- a pensioner concession card;
- a repatriation health benefits card issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs; or
- a Health Care Card
- Persons and dependents of persons in receipt of the Youth Allowance, AUSTUDY or ABSTUDY
- Dependents of persons who are inmates of a custodial institution
- Secondary school-aged persons, not enrolled at school.
If you are not eligible, please see our Skill sets page.
^ You will pay half price for the course fees on the Lower fees, local skills qualifications, however other fees may apply such as for resources that are specifically needed for your course.
- First aid in an education and care setting
- Provide care for babies, toddlers and children
- Support the holistic development, play and learning of children in early childhood
- Use an approved learning framework and information about children to inform and guide practice
I have the following attributes:
- Enjoy working with children and able to to relate well to them
- Enthusiastic, tactful, patient and a sense of humor
- Calm, alert, observant and active
- Good problem-solving skills with ability to communicate simply and clearly
- A good fitness level to be able to lift children and child care equipment
Follow the link to find further information to help you make an informed choice about the suitability of this course.
| School Leaver | Non-School Leaver | AQF |
|---|---|---|
| OLNA or NAPLAN 9 Band 8 | C Grades in Year 10 English and Maths or equivalent | Certificate I or Certificate II |
Before attending work placement you will be required to obtain:
- Working with Children Check
- Federal Police Clearance
- Medical clearance
Under 18 students will be required to obtain a Confidential Statutory Declaration and a medical clearance.
In the first week of study, you will be required to sit a literacy and numeracy test to ascertain your suitability for the course.
Other job titles may include:
- Early childhood educator
- Outside school hours care assistant
- Playgroup supervisor
- Recreation assistant
- Childhood Educator
- Childhood educator assistant
Please note this list should be used as a guide only as job titles and qualification requirements may vary between organisations.
North Metropolitan TAFE offers you a range of further study opportunities, see below for a list of related courses.
This qualification is part of the Lower fees, local skills program where you'll pay only half of the standard course fees until 31 December 2021. The “annual fees cap” means that full-fee paying students will only pay a maximum of $1,200 (plus resource fee) and concession-fee paying students or those aged 15-24 years will only pay up to $400 (plus resource fee). Please see below an approximate estimate of what you will pay on enrolment.
Annual Full fee
Tuition fee |
Resource fee |
Total |
| 1200.00 | 280.00 | 1480.00 |
Annual Concession fee
Tuition fee |
Resource fee |
Total |
| 374.40 | 280.00 | 654.40 |
These fees are estimates only and are for the entire course for students enrolling on a full-time basis.
- Fees might differ between courses delivered at different campuses due to the elective units included in the course study plan or adapting courses to meet local industry needs.
- Fees may also differ for each individual student depending on the units of study selected, prior qualifications and recognition of prior learning.
- Fees are payable at enrolment each semester for the units enrolled for that period. Some year-long courses might have a bigger fee load in the first semester.
- Proof of concession must be presented to access concession rates if eligible.
- For secondary school aged persons (in 2021, students born on or after 1 July 2003 who are at least 15 years old) undertaking training that is not part of a VET Delivered to Secondary Schools program, the maximum course fee chargeable in 2021 is $420 plus the resource fees and discretionary fees.
- Concessions and Secondary School Age cap do not apply to commercial courses (such as short courses), or Foundation Programs (ESL, General Education, etc.).
- Prices quoted include resource fees, but do not include material fees such as the cost of books, uniforms and students personal equipment.
- The course fee cap applicable to Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas only applies during the current calendar year, so fees might differ for students enrolling in semester 2.
- VET Student Loans Eligible Courses and Caps may be subject to changes implemented by the Australian Government.
- Course information and fees are subject to change without notice.
Study options and next steps
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