Early childhood education for PR

You can start your journey in to Early childhood education through 3 different study options.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education: If you are looking to start your higher education journey and are passionate about early childhood education then you can embark your journey with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Care.

• Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education: If you already hold a degree in a related field but if you want to specialize in Early Childhood Education and Care, then a Graduate Diploma is the most suitable option. This option is more economical than pursuing a Masters. You can complete your diploma in 1 year and then explore your PR options.

• Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education: If you want to deepen your knowledge in Early Childhood Education and Care then a Masters is the best option for you. Keep in mind that pursuing a Masters is more expensive than pursuing a Graduate Diploma. The Masters would take around 1.5 to 2 years to complete and upon completion you can explore your PR options.

Once you are completed with your Early childhood Education and Care studies you have to ensure that you work in an occupation that would lead you to PR. The occupations that you can pursue once you have completed your studies are:

• Child Care Centre Manager (134111)

• Early Education (Pre-primary School) Teacher (241111)

• Nanny (421113)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education (422111)

• Child Care Worker (421111)

• Preschool Aide (422115)

• Out of School Hours Care Worker (421114)

• Family Day Care Work (421112)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Officer (422111)

• Early Childhood Educator (421118)

• Officer Early Childhood Education Room Leader (421117)

• Early Childhood Educator (421118)

• Out of School Hours Educator (421114)

• Family Day Care Educator (422112)

• Family Day Care Coordinator (134113)

• Children’s Education and Care Service Director (134111)

• Early Education (Pre-primary School) Teacher (241113)

Please note: Among the occupations listed above, many are not in the general skilled occupation lists published by the Department of Home Affairs. If your occupation is not in the skilled occupation list, then your chances of getting PR are minimal. So its important that you have an occupation that is in the skilled occupation lists (either the MLTSSL , STSOL or CSOL). The occupations that you can find on the skill list related to Early Childhood Education and Care are

• Child Care Centre Manager (134111 )

• Child Care Worker (group leaders only) (421111)

• Early Education (Pre-primary School) Teacher (421111)

The primary career option that you can consider as an individual with the qualifications of Early childhood Education and Care is Early Education (Pre- Primary School) Teacher. This is an occupation that is on the MLTSSL and the CSOL which allows to explore various types of visas as well such as;

• SC 186 - Employer Nomination Scheme visa

• SC 189 - Skilled Independent - Points-Tested

• SC 190 - Skilled Nominated

• SC 407 - Training visa

• SC 485 - Temporary Graduate - Graduate Work

• SC 489 - Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa - Family sponsored

• SC 489 - Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa - State or Territory nominated

• SC 482 - Skills in Demand visa – Core Skills Stream

• SC 187 - Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme

• SC 494 - Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) - Employer sponsored stream

• SC 491 - Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa State or Territory nominated

• SC 491 - Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa Family Sponsored

Also Early Education (Pre-primary School) Teacher is an occupation that is currently in demand throughout Australia. So this would be the best option for you to consider if you are pursuing a career in Early Childhood and Care sector.

To become an Early childhood teacher in Australia you must fulfill the requirements below

Qualification level: Educational level comparable to at least an Australian bachelor’s degree level

Age focus of qualification: Qualifications must include curriculum and supervised professional experience that covers the age range from birth to five years of age* (including transition to school). Qualifications that cover the age range from birth to eight years are preferred.

Supervised professional experience during qualification: 45 days supervised professional experience for early childhood teaching qualifications. This must include a minimum of 10 days supervised professional experience with children aged birth to under 3 years old, and a significant number (typically at least 25-30) of days in early childhood settings with children aged 3 until before they start formal schooling. The remaining balance may be undertaken with school aged children.

English language proficiency: You can demonstrate your English language proficiency in the following ways:

1. One year (full-time) tertiary or higher education level study in either: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States of America

2. A score of seven (7.0) or more in the reading and writing components, and a score of eight (8.0) or more in the speaking and listening components for IELTS (Academic version)

3. (ISLPR) Teacher-focused assessment Level 4 in all four skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, undertaken at an approved testing site.

4. On a case-by-case basis, ACECQA will consider evidence of a professional reference from an employer in either: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States of America.

If you already hold a qualification related to Early Childhood Education, you can verify whether its approved by ACECQA by simply using the qualification checker here.

Child Care Worker (group leaders only) is an occupation which is in demand throughout all the states in Australia as demonstrated by the data below by Jobs and Skills Australia.

However, Child Care Worker (group leaders only) is an occupation that is found in the sub list, Regional Occupation List (ROL) and the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). Having an occupation on the ROL and the CSOL, would limit your visa options as the only visas that you can apply to, are the

• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (SC 494) and the
• Skills in Demand visa (SC 482).

These are employer sponsored visas and you will have to rely on sponsorships. The main hurdle for the SC 494 visa would be in finding a regional employer and the hurdle for the SC 482 would be finding an employer who is willing to pay the Temporary Skill Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) which currently stands at AUD 73,150.

Child Care Centre Manager is an occupation that is found in the MLTSSL which allows you to explore various visa options. The visa options that you can explore include:

• SC 189 - Skilled Independent - Points-Tested

• SC 190 - Skilled Nominated

• SC 407 - Training visa

• SC 485 - Temporary Graduate - Graduate Work

• SC 489 - Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa - Family sponsored

• SC 489 - Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa - State or Territory nominated

• SC 482 - Skills in Demand visa – Medium Term Stream

• SC 187 - Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme

• SC 494 - Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) - Employer sponsored stream

• SC 491 - Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa State or Territory nominated

• SC 491 - Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa Family Sponsored

• SC 186 - Employer Nomination Scheme visa

However this occupation is not an occupation that is in demand in any states except in Western Australia, this is demonstrated by the data published by Jobs and Skills Australia. So despite being able to apply for various visas your chances of getting invited would be low as Child Care Centre Manager is not in demand and the invitations would be sent out to occupations that are high in demand in those states.

According to a study conducted by Jobs and Skills Australia on the The Future of the Early Childhood Education Profession, the current Early childhood Education and Care workforce would likely need to grow by an extra 8 per cent to satisfy current estimated unmet demand for early childhood services and another 8 per cent to meet unmet demand for qualified workers. Further the study states that In 2034, the Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher occupation is expected to continue to record a shortfall in staff. These indicate that Early childhood profession will be an occupation that may be in demand at least for the foreseeable future.