Accredited Early Childhood Educator Training

Nautilus approach to vocational education in the childcare sector is one that involves training which is delivered individually to students, entirely in their workplaces. Unlike many other providers, Nautilus has structured its services so that all training, including the mandatory First Aid competencies, is delivered on-the-job, thereby removing any necessity for students to make arrangements to attend scheduled classes on campus or to be absent from the workplace for the sake of their education.

Members of Nautilus childcare training staff have been chosen for their ability to translate the necessary knowledge and skill, to encourage and support learning and to function as a resource for the student and the workplace, whilst training and assessing the student for competency in each unit on the student’s training plan. More information about Nautilus childcare training staff can be found on the About Nautilus page.

Whilst the workplace is an ideal place in which to develop work-related skills and pick up work-related knowledge, such learning does not necessarily occur on its own and without any help. Along with a supportively supervised working environment and a dedicated and competent trainer, the learner needs quality curriculum resources – informative materials which support and enable the learning. Nautilus Training’s Childcare Curriculum Materials have been recognised by being a finalist in the 2004 and 2006 Victorian Community Service and Health Industry Training Awards, in the Innovative Product category.

Designed especially for current childcare industry conditions in Australia, and developed, trialled and continuously improved with our childcare students, these materials represent the most appropriate and relevant resources available for students undertaking training in the qualifications, Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113) and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50113).

The materials consist of a discrete Competency Handbook for each of the competency units that make up the two qualifications, and a single Users Guide to the Competency Handbooks, for each of the two qualifications. Whilst these publications have been priced on the open market at over $600 for the Certificate III materials and over $1000 for the Diploma materials, Nautilus’ Government subsidised students are provided with the materials free of charge, and its fee-for-service students’ fees include the full cost of the materials.

Each Competency Handbook contains all the information required by the student to develop the competency, right down to the individual performance indicators, as detailed in the current training package (CHC). The text is set out using the training package details as a structure. Each competency element has its own section of knowledge building text and each performance indicator is treated as a discrete topic. Each section (ie. competency element) has a preview to introduce it and a review to help the student reflect on what they have learnt from the section. A learning activity is included for each topic, to extend and consolidate what the learner has gained from the topic. The Competency Handbook also contains the assessment tasks to be undertaken by the student, in order to demonstrate competency.

Nautilus Training firmly believes in the value of feedback and has taken steps to ensure that materials evaluation sheets and employer/student satisfaction surveys are obtained and carefully reviewed, in order to determine the quality of both the materials and the learning they support, as well as to identify any opportunities for improvement. The continuous improvement system used by Nautilus Training also provides a conduit for its training staff and all the various users, to propose further refinements and improvements.

In addition, Nautilus Training’s marketers, and curriculum researchers and developers, are in regular contact with the childcare services where the materials are in use, checking to ensure that every aspect is consistent with the realities of day-to-day workplace practices.

Constantly reviewing and improving the material helps to ensure that it contains only the most current, reliable and soundly proven information. Recent developments in areas concerned with early childhood, such as cognitive psychology and early brain development, are included in the information provided and as new discoveries are tried and tested, they make their way into the content. Also, changes associated with shifts in the regulatory, licensing and accreditation areas are accommodated in the refinement process.

The ability that the material has, to build up into an extensive information resource for trainees to continue to refer to, long after the completion of their training, has often been favourably commented upon, by both trainees and their supervisors.

Nautilus Training & Curriculum Pty Ltd believes that these materials represent a fresh approach to meeting the needs of the learners in the childcare workplace, the children’s services industry, the marketplace and, most importantly, the families and children who use the services.

As well as obvious applications for self-paced learning and flexibly delivered training, the unit-by-unit feature of the materials is invaluable for students whose training plans include a number of unrelated units of competency. For example, the unit-by-unit feature is ideal for a student, who has units to complete through training and assessment, such as after Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has already been granted for a number of units from the qualification they are pursuing.

Quality outcomes from training are more readily achieved when the student’s employer and the training provider have a strong and close working relationship. Nautilus Training takes great care to build supportive business to business relationships with the childcare services that utilise its services for training their staff.

Whilst Nautilus may not be the biggest registered training organisation in Victoria, its size means that we are able to concentrate our training services on the childcare sector, and to specialise in training childcare workers.

Nautilus’ overall aim is to provide people in the childcare industry with the opportunity to learn their craft in the workplace with the help of its training services and its materials.

To be eligible for a government subsidy, for either training and assessment or through Recognition of Prior Learning, the student must meet both the general citizenship/ residency requirements and the Skills First Program requirements.

To meet general citizenship/ residency eligibility requirements, the student must be either:

• an Australian citizen, or
• the holder of a permanent visa, or
• a New Zealand citizen.

In order to satisfy the eligibility requirements of the Skills First Program, the student needs to have enrolled and commenced training in 2021, and:

• be under 20 years of age (as at 1 January 2021), or
• over 20 years of age (as at 1 January 2021) and undertaking recognised training in a course that is at a higher qualification level than the highest qualification held at the time of the commencement of training.

In Addition to meeting the above eligibility criteria, an individual is only eligible to:

• commence a maximum of two government subsidised courses in a calander year. Where an individual is enrolled in a course(s) that is scheduled to commence at a later date in that calander year, this course(s) must be counted for the purpose of this clause when assesing eligibility;
• undertake a maximum of two government subsidises courses at any one time;
• commence a maximum of two government subsidised courses at the same level within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) in their lifetime; and commence a maximum of two government subsidised accredited courses with the title “Course in…” in their lifetime.

Subject to the eligibility criteria, both the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care may be undertaken with the assistance of a Government subsidy.

In addition to the individual eligibility requirements for a government subsidy already discussed, to be eligible for government subsidised training as a Trainee, the Traineeship student has to be:

• employed in Victoria, in a children’s service enterprise in either a full time or part time capacity under an award or registered agreement,
• a signatory to a Training Contract with their employer, which is registered with the Victorian Skills Commission
• a signatory, jointly with the employer and the RTO, to a Training Plan, and
• involved in paid work and Structured Training.

Trainees must be at least fifteen years of age. There is no maximum age limit. Trainees can be employed either full-time or part-time, but must work at least thirteen hours per week on a permanent and on-going full-time or part-time basis.

Subject to the additional eligibility criteria for Trainesships, both the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care may be undertaken as a Traineeship.

Call NT&C on (03) 5986 8887 or e-mail nautilus@nautilustraining.com.au for more information on eligibility, enrolment, and fees and charges, etc.

Commonwealth Incentives may be available to employers of eligible Trainees. Employers of disabled Trainees may also be eligible for additional support.

Contact an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network member for information about payments and eligibility, or log on to the Australian Apprenticeships website at http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/. Under certain circumstances, Trainees may also be eligible for assistance through Youth Allowance, Austudy or Abstudy. In these cases, the Trainee should contact Centrelink on 133 633 or visit the website http://www.centrelink.gov.au.

Employers seeking advice on eligibility, incentives and Trainee employment issues should also contact an Australian Apprenticeship Centre or log on to the Australian Apprenticeships website at http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/.

Despite the various options already discussed, there are some people who are ineligible for Government subsidised training. Nautilus Training delivers the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care on a full fee paying basis. Call NT&C on (03) 5986 8887 or e-mail nautilus@nautilustraining.com.au for information about enrolment.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is also available on a fee for service basis. E-mail nautilus@nautilustraining.com.au or call NT&C on (03) 5986 8887 for more information and advice.

RPL is explained in detail on a dedicated page on this website.

Where training services are provided to eligible individuals with funds made available by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, Nautilus Training acknowledges that this training is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth Government funding.

Improve your employment prospects through training

For quite some time, the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113) was recognised as enabling Victorian childcare educators to be employed as a “Level 2 – qualified assistant”. Recent changes to the Victorian regulations make this qualification more important than ever, inasmuch as, after the transitional period for the introduction of the changed regulations, the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care* is now the minimum requirement. Additionally, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care has been implemented in 2014. It requires all childcare educators to be enrolled in and showing satisfactory progress in the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care or to have completed the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care* as a minimum (* or equivalent qualification).

Call NT&C on (03) 5986 8887 or e-mail nautilus@nautilustraining.com.au for more detailed information.

Advance your career, become a qualified.

To work as a room leader in a Victorian long day care service, the childcare worker needs to possess a specific qualification, the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50113)*.

The Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113) contains the prerequisites for undertaking the Diploma. These Certificate III prerequisites must be satisfied in order to undertake training in the Diploma, and students enrolling into the Diploma will need to be able to provide evidence of their having completed the prerequisite units of competency* from the Certificate III prior to commencement of the Diploma training (* or equivalent qualifications).

Call NT&C on (03) 5986 8887 or e-mail nautilus@nautilustraining.com.au for more detailed information.