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.
Details to come.
Details to come.