The primary barrier has been identified as the restrictive entry requirements that were introduced in July 2021.
Enrolments in the Diploma and the number of students who actually complete the course have been declining for several years. This means there are not enough graduates to fill current workforce shortages or meet future demand for qualified early childhood education and care workers.
The national shortage of suitably skilled workers directly impacts on the number of available places for children, quality of service and the ability of providers to meet regulatory requirements.
In consultation with key stakeholders, this project seeks to amend the Diploma entry requirements to recognise previous versions of the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and/or similar qualifications combined with workforce experience.
The project will also develop tools to support two recognition pathways into the Diploma.
Project fact sheet
A project Technical Committee has been established to provide expert advice for this project. Committee members were selected for their relevant expertise in relation to the project.
View the Terms of Reference and membership.
Project development is underway and draft materials will be made available in the Consultation stage. The development of these materials will be based on initial research and targeted interviews focused on a new recognition pathway for entry to the Diploma.
The new pathway seeks to recognise the two versions of the Certificate III in Early Childhood and Care that preceded current entry requirements.
A skill set will be drafted to address any critical skill gaps identified between the CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and earlier versions of the qualification.
A pre-entry assessment kit will also be drafted to support the new recognition pathway.
Consultation
CHC Diploma ECEC Consultation Strategy
We look forward to your feedback on the proposed amendments to the CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care entry requirements. Our public consultation period will be 4 weeks from Monday 23 September to Friday 18 October 2024.
Consultations will be structured to ensure that stakeholders:
- understand the challenges associated with the current entry requirements to the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
- can provide informed feedback on proposed changes
- can provide feedback on draft recognition of prior learning and pre-entry assessment resources.
Consultation drafts and supporting papers
We look forward to receiving your feedback at one of the workshops.
Workshops
- Sydney, Monday 23 September 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Christie Consulting Spaces, North Sydney NSW 2060
Sydney
- Canberra, Tuesday 24 September 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Quest Canberra City Walk, ACT 2600
Canberra
- Adelaide, Wednesday 25 September 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Quest on Franklin, Adelaide SA 5000
Adelaide
- Hobart, Friday 27 September 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Hobart Function and Conference Centre, TAS 7000
Hobart
- Melbourne, Tuesday 8 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Christie’s Consulting, Melbourne
Melbourne
- Perth, Tuesday 8 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Quest Kings Park, Perth
Perth
- Darwin, Thursday 10 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Darwin Innovation Hub, Darwin
Darwin
- Brisbane, Friday 11 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
Christie’s Consulting, Brisbane
Brisbane
- Online, Tuesday 15 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
MS Teams
Online
- Online, Thursday 17 October 2024 - 10.15 am - 12.15 pm
MS Teams
Online
Surveys
If you're unable to attend one of the workshops, you can provide your feedback via these surveys:
Contact Details
Celeste Howden, Training Product Manager: [email protected]
Details to come.
Details to come.