We know the sector is currently experiencing a serious skills shortage. To improve the situation, we need dedicated and capable educators entering early childhood education who can contribute to the sector and ease the burden felt by many early learning centres.

There’s a hidden pipeline of skilled workers out there – you just need to know where to look. It’s now more important than ever to foster collaborative relationships between sector partners and business leaders in early childhood education and care.

Skilled workers to thrive in early childhood education

Around 6,000 new educators is the estimated figure needed to combat the stress on the early childhood sector.

That seems like a huge figure, but what if we told you that in the past year at Practical Outcomes the number of learners we have seen complete certified courses in early childhood and education and care was in the thousands? The workforce is there – it’s just about making the connection between graduation and employment.

Sometimes this is easier said than done. New entrants to the sector can be apprehensive, which can lead to missed opportunities. Likewise, centre directors and managerial teams may be reluctant to hire newly qualified educators.

When considering taking on newly qualified educators it’s natural to weigh up the pros and cons, and one of the things centre management has to think about is the administrative load. With the current strain on early learning centres many directors and leaders just don’t have the time to deal with the paperwork and training. You can look at it two ways. Rather than seeing it as a reason not to employ newly qualified educators, why not see it as a reason to seek extra support?

To help address the workforce shortage, early learning centres can work with RTOs and sector partners to find recruitment solutions. There are three practical ways to do so, which we’ve outlined below.

Three pathways to access talent

1. Partner with RTOs and accept placement learners

Our early childhood education and care courses are updated regularly to reflect the needs of the sector. Practical placement is an integral part of getting qualified, giving learners the opportunity to implement the skills they’re developing in a real workplace. Taking on placement learners is a good opportunity for centre directors to gain a few pairs of extra hands, supervise their training, and develop relationships with potential future employees.

 2. Take advantage of wage subsidies

One positive aspect arising from the pandemic is new funding opportunities in early childhood education and care. There is plenty of government funding out there if you know where to look, and our Practical Outcomes team can assist centre management in finding the right funding to support recruitment initiatives. This might come in the form of wage subsidies or employment support for trainees.

Available funding includes:

• JobTrainer funding – designed to support existing care workers to access training and to assist new educators to kick start their career
• Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement fund (BAC) – offsets the cost of traineeships by 50% over a 12-month period
• Jobs Victoria Fund – wage subsidies of up to $20,000 are available to offset the cost of employing someone for 12 months

3. Take on trainees

Early childhood education and care relies on highly trained, engaged and passionate educators who are invested in the wellbeing and development of the children in their care. One way to shape a passionate workforce and tackle the skills shortage is through traineeships.

Traineeships are beneficial for everyone. They provide learners with invaluable on-the-job experience and the ability to earn while they learn. The benefits extend to employers: taking on trainees means being able to oversee their learning and shape new educators according to the needs of your centre.

How we support sector growth

Early childhood education and care is an essential sector and its importance and value is becoming increasingly recognised by the wider community. At Practical Outcomes our goal is to support the sector in committed and practical ways, which is why we partner with early learning centres to develop recruitment strategies and support.

Some of the key areas in which we can assist both learners and centres are:

For learners:

• Flexible learning options including online delivery
• Dedicated Learner Support team
• Practical placement support, including visits from your placement supervisor
• Experienced trainers who know the ins and outs of the industry

For centres:

• Assisting with the traineeship process, including liaising between centre directors and Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) providers to remove the administrative burden
• Assisting centre directors with information to determine eligibility for wage subsidies and funding
• Regular visits to check in with trainees, learners on placement and centre staff in order to streamline their training
• Provide training to new entrants and upskilling opportunities for current staff
• Provide subsidised training opportunities through JobTrainer and Skills First government schemes

An opportunity to work together

Rather than seeing the skills shortage as a crisis, we might think of it as an opportunity to work together. Fostering meaningful relationships between RTOs, sector partners and centre management means creating a safety net and a strong support network the sector can rely on. Similarly, if you’re a learner or new educator in the sector, know that there are many ways your training organisation can connect you with meaningful work.

To find out more about how we can support you to find employment solutions, contact the team at Practical Outcomes today.

You might already be aware of – and even utilised – schemes like JobTrainer and the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencement wage subsidy (BAC), but it’s worth thinking about how you might also take advantage of wage subsidies available under the Jobs Victoria Fund. Wage subsidies of up to $20,000 per employee are available now to support you to expand and improve your team.

What is the Jobs Victoria Fund?

The Jobs Victoria Fund is designed to support and employ people most affected by the pandemic. For early childhood education and care providers, utilising this funding might look like hiring new trainees, expanding your team, or increasing hours for those you already employ.

Wage subsidies of up to $20,000 are available to support the cost of employing someone for 12 months, and the number of subsidies you can apply for will depend on the size of your business.

Because this wage subsidy is designed to support people most affected by the economic impacts of the pandemic, to qualify for funding an employee must identify with one or more priority groups.

This funding promotes equity, and at least 60% of jobs will go to women, reflecting the ongoing adverse impact the pandemic has had on women’s employment opportunities.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible, there are a few boxes you’ll need to check. Firstly, any employee to receive a wage subsidy must be employed for at least 12 months on a permanent or fixed-term basis.

Jobs must be for at least 19 hours per week – although workers with a disability or carer responsibilities will be eligible for decreased hours.

The important thing to consider is that this fund is designed to support priority groups, which means that eligible employees must come from one of these categories:

• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
• Jobseekers registered with a Jobs Victoria mentor service.
• people unemployed for six months or more
• newly arrived migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds
• women aged 45 years and over
• people seeking asylum/refugees
• people with disability
• single parents
• veterans
• men and people who do not identify as a woman aged 45 years and over
• young people aged under 25
• people previously or currently employed under the Working for Victoria initiative

If you’re still unsure whether your business qualifies for funding, the Jobs Victoria Fund website has a handy questionnaire you can complete in under 5 minutes in order to check your business’s eligibility.

Investing in our shared future

There can be no doubt as to how much we need quality educators right now. Early learning is a pivotal stage in a child’s development which sets them up for life, and as the early learning sector continues to grow, we want to do what we can to ensure it’s filled with the best and brightest employees.

Shaping a strong team of educators can be challenging, because early childhood education and care requires a unique temperament and set of skills. Quality educators:

• assist children to develop important skills like emotional intelligence and communication, which will contribute to positive relationships throughout their lives.
• focus on pedagogy, giving kids strong foundations for further education
• encourage creativity, curiosity, and artistic expression
• play games which help children develop skills like teamwork and conflict resolution
• nurture children’s interests and abilities

When children have all these tools at their disposal, the positive effects of learning ripple out through the community. That’s why giving children the best start in life is a way of investing in our shared future.

How traineeships can benefit your business

Recovering from the pandemic is a slow road, one which has highlighted staff shortages and recruitment challenges in the early childhood education and care sector. Government funding initiatives like the Jobs Victoria Fund, BAC and JobTrainer are designed to make the process a little easier.

In education we often default to thinking that those with more experience will be better employees, but there are just as many reasons to hire trainees. In fact, trainees can be a huge asset to your business.

Trainees bring energy and enthusiasm to the workplace, as well as valuable skills developed on-the-job. When you invite aspiring educators to join your team, you’re ensuring your workers not only have the practical skills required for the role, but also the right attitude for the job.

Let’s work together

Practical Outcomes has strong connections to the early learning sector. Our traineeships and courses are designed with employability and sector knowledge in mind, and it’s important to us that we continue to make valuable contributions to early childhood education and care.

A few things you can expect from us:

• We spend time consulting with sector experts
• Our dedicated trainers support learners with first-hand knowledge and experience
• We stay up-to-date with the latest developments in pedagogy and early learning, and our courses reflect this commitment to progress

Our goal, as always, is to ensure learners continue to get a relevant future-facing education which reflects and supports the needs of the sector.

We can help you identify solutions to any demands your business might be facing, like needing a steady stream of qualified workers.  It is our goal to cultivate and encourage a workforce of positive, skilled and engaging educators who will help shape our children’s futures.

To find out more about what we do, take a look at the traineeships and courses we offer in early childhood education and care.

If you haven’t taken advantage of the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy yet, now is the time! This BAC wage subsidy is available for traineeships in early childhood education and care across Victoria and New South Wales — and has been extended until June 30th 2022.

The Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement wage subsidy

Funding for the BAC wage subsidy was introduced to offer a helping hand to businesses in taking on new trainees while assisting them in their recovery from the impact of the pandemic. The funding supports eligible businesses who engage a person in a traineeship to access a wage subsidy of 50 per cent for a 12-month period from commencement, maxing out at $7,000 per quarter.

This financial support is to encourage a workforce of highly skilled employees who can continue to sustain recovery for the economy and for early childhood education service, along with many other sectors.

What is an early childhood education traineeship?

If you’re not entirely sure what a traineeship is, let us explain. A traineeship combines the theory-based learning of early childhood education with the practical experience of working in the sector. While quality courses in early childhood will incorporate practical placement, a traineeship gives learners the opportunity to work and earn while they learn on the job.

Chances are you are familiar with apprenticeships — traineeships are similar in that they both involve learning while working at the same time. That is, learning on the job but supported by also undertaking coursework with training organisation. While apprenticeships are for those seeking skilled trades, traineeships are for people wanting to undertake vocational training. Further, traineeships can take as little as 12-months to three years to complete, while apprenticeships tend to be longer.

The benefits of traineeships for your early childhood education service

While wage subsidies are appealing, the appeal of trainees extends far beyond financial support. When you take on prospective educators via traineeships you can set yourself up to find skilled, knowledgeable educators who are the perfect fit for your service.

Recruitment can be an arduous process. Preparing job advertisements, reading applications, shortlisting candidates, scheduling interviews, conducting interviews — it all takes time and energy, and there are no guarantees. Going through all the stages of recruitment and still not feeling like you have found the right person to join your team is frustrating and disappointing.

When you hire a trainee, it’s a different story. Inviting trainees undertaking workplace training within your service can be the perfect way to shape a strong team of educators to support your business. They are learning on the job under your supervision and guidance.

Key benefits of hiring trainees include:

• Gaining employees who will have well-developed practical skills from hands-on learning
• Enjoying the benefit of educators who have been shaped and guided to match your workplace
• Saving time in the recruitment and onboarding process
• Improved employee confidence through their highly supported and practical training

Not to mention of course the financial incentives available to support you in taking on trainees at your early childhood education service.

Support through the traineeship process

The team at Practical Outcomes provides assistance to services across Victoria who are interested in employing trainees. We offer distance training so that those undertaking a traineeship have the flexibility to work and learn with minimal disruptions to the way you run your early childhood education service.

As well as providing flexible and supported training experience for your flourishing educator trainees, here a few ways we support you through the traineeship process:

• We assign a Key Account Manager who will work with you and the Australia Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) provider to support the completion of paperwork and provide supplementary reporting.
• We assist with information to determine eligibility for traineeship funding.
• We coordinate the traineeship registration activity with AASN, us and you.
• We follow up on registrations and support with claim forms and completions

Exploring traineeships and funding options

The BAC wage subsidy isn’t the only option available to the early childhood education sector. You might also like to explore eligibility for additional wage subsidies and incentives to support you and your workforce in achieving your fullest potential.

Get in touch with Practical Outcomes for further support in the best way to approach bringing trainees into your early childhood education workplace.