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About Education Support
You'll become
Average Salaries
Education Support workers may earn between $23,000 and $50,000 per year
Want to contribute to the education of young people? Education support roles such as Teacher’s Aides and Education Assistants are in high demand! With these Education Support courses, you can get all the skills and knowledge needed so you can support and assist learning in the classroom.
Start a rewarding new career supporting the next generation by studying an education support course.
Education support workers perform non-teaching tasks in educational settings, and play a critical role in supporting the social, emotional, and intellectual development of students and young people. As an education support worker, you’ll be uniquely placed to help students unlock their potential and teachers to provide the most effective support to students.
With a growing population and widening inequality, strong support for young people at all stages of development is more important than ever. As an education support worker, you’ll play an essential role in creating a supportive, engaging environment in which all students can thrive.
You may choose to study an education support course as a certificate course or bachelor’s degree, and after completing a course may choose to seek employment as a teacher’s aid, pre-school aid, disability aid, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support worker.
Challenging and deeply rewarding, a career in educational support is a unique opportunity to transfer skills and knowledge, and to make a real impact on other people’s lives. If you want to help people to unlock their potential, an educational support course is for you.
What do education support graduates do?
Most education support course graduates pursue employment as educational aides, in either an early childhood, primary school or secondary school classroom setting. As an educational support worker, your tasks will vary depending on your setting, but you may be expected to perform work like:
- Demonstrating, supervising and participating in activities that enhance the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of students in schools and pre-school centres;
- Assisting teachers to plan and manage all aspects of the classroom setting, including managing conflict, planning lessons and preparing indoor and outdoor areas for learning and recreational activities;
- Assisting students with intellectual, physical and behavioural difficulties with their academic studies and social, emotional and cognitive development;
- Supporting children individually to teach social skills and communication;
- Working closely with teachers and administrative staff to prepare and collate teaching aids, materials and resources;
- Understanding and planning for the unique challenges and opportunities faced by members of marginalised communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students without English, and students living with disabilities;
- Liaising with teachers, parents, school staff and community services to provide support for students and their families outside of the school community; and
- Working with school staff members to educate and communicate about recognising marginalised members of a classroom.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
Education support course will look at a variety of subjects, which could potentially include: supporting the development of literacy, oral language and numeracy skills, supporting the behaviour of young people, contributing, managing and organising the classroom, and working effectively with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
Graduates of educational support courses usually pursue employment in schools, and may work as a:
- Educational support worker
- Teacher’s aide
- Teaching assistant
- Learning support assistant
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education worker
- Integration aide
- Pre-school aide
- English as an additional language aide
- Special needs support worker
Is education support right for you?
You’ll thrive working in educational support if you:
- Love working with people
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Are passionate about supporting others
- Are proactive
- Like problem-solving
- Have strong organisational and time management skills
- Are empathetic
- Enjoy fast-paced work
Job opportunities
According to the Australia Government’s Job Outlook, employment for education support workers has been growing steadily for the past decade and is likely to grow very strongly over the next five years. Job Outlook notes the industry is large, with approximately 87,000 people employed in education support roles, and an estimated 50,000 new roles opening before 2020 – indicating the profession is available in all areas of Australia. Job Outlook also notes a very small proportion of the sector – approximately 21 per cent – is employed full-time.
Average Salaries
An education support worker can expect to earn between $23,000 and $50,000 per year, with an average salary of $44,000, according to PayScale. A positive relationship exists between experience and salary in secondary education, with education support workers with between 10 and 15 years’ experience earning the highest wages, but the correlation isn’t dramatic and entry-level workers can expect to earn competitive salaries, averaging approximately $40,00 per year, according to PayScale.
Learn how to become a
Industry Bodies
While no body exists specifically for educational support workers, workers can expect to be included in state and national bodies for members of the teaching profession. National bodies include the:
- Australian Teacher Education Association
- Australian Professional Teachers Association
- Early Childhood Australia
- Australian Education Union
- Independent Educators Union of Australia
As teaching is legislated and organised at the state level, each state has its own professional teachers’ committee to advocate for its members’ interests:
- Professional Teachers’ Council, New South Wales
- Council of Professional Teaching Associations of Victoria Inc
- Joint Council of Queensland Teacher Associations
- The Council of Education Associations of South Australia
- Professional Teaching Council of Western Australia
- Network of Education Associations of Tasmania Inc
- Northern Territory Join Council of Professional Teacher Associations Inc
- Council of ACT Education Associations