Accredited online and on-campus courses from leading Australian universities, TAFEs and colleges
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Turn your passion for helping people into an energising and rewarding professional career by studying a child care course.
You care deeply about children and want a rewarding new career. Play a critical role in shaping the leaders of tomorrow and build in-demand professional skills by studying a course in child care.
Working closely with children and other professionals, graduates of child care courses play a critical role in the social, emotional and physical development of babies, children and young people. As a child care professional, you’ll help support and care for children in a range of ways, working hands-on to ensure their most critical development needs are satisfied.
With a highly employed population and a generous government rebate for child care services, Australia is urgently seeking skilled professionals to provide critical support and care for children whose parents work. By studying a child care course, you’ll build the essential skills, abilities and insights required to provide world-class care to children and young people.
You can study child care as a certificate or diploma course or as part of a bachelor’s degree. After completing a child care course, you may seek employment as a child care worker, day care worker or nanny, working either in a child care centre setting or in a home or private environment.
Child care workers play a vital role in supporting the social, emotional and physical development of young people. As a child care worker, you can expect to work in an intimate and hands-on role, performing tasks like:
As your career develops, you may also progress to a role in child care centre management and administration.
After completing a child care course, you may choose to work in a variety of school, crèche, child care centre and recreational centre settings. Jobs you may pursue after graduation include roles such as:
You’ll find working in child care rewarding and stimulating if you:
According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook, the child care industry in Australia is large and growing. Job opportunities in the child care sector have increased steadily in the last decade. The sector currently employs approximately 149,600 child care workers. Job Outlook predicts this demand will continue until at least 2020, with approximately 39,000 new child care workers predicted to be needed in the next decade.
According to PayScale, child care workers can expect to earn between $20,000 and $55,000 per year, with an average salary of approximately $45,000. While salary does increase with experience, PayScale notes only a modest relationship, indicating entry-level workers may enjoy earning competitive salaries.
PayScale notes that a child care centre manager can expect to earn between $45,000 and $81,000 per year, with an average salary of $63,000 per year. Job Outlook observes that managers may earn up to an additional 50 per cent of the weekly salary of a child care worker, stating that workers take home on average $800 per week, while child care centre managers earn on average $1,160 per week.
