Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (Traineeship)

Government funded traineeship: $250*

Self-funded: $6,000

Textbooks: $110^

MCIE T-shirt: $40

*This program is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth government funding to eligible candidates. Eligibility criteria applies.

Enrolment fees include additional resources required for the program and student ID charges. For additional service fees, such as re-assessment fees or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), please refer to the Domestic Student Handbook.

^Students can decide whether they wish to purchase soft copy or hard copy textbooks.

• Authorised Supervisor

• Child Development Worker

• Group, Team or Room Leader

• Childcare Centre Manager

• Children’s Adviser

• Children’s Services Coordinator

• Children’s Services Director

• Educational Leader

• Early Childhood Educator

According to the National Skills Commission:

• There are currently 12,500 Child Care Centre Managers in Australia

• This occupation has considerable future growth of 21.8%

• Average weekly earnings are $1,494

• 71% of Child Care Centre Managers work full-time

• 92% of people in this occupation are women, with an average age of 40.

Prerequisites

Entry to this qualification is open to individuals who hold either of the following qualifications:

• CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

• CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Education and skills

Students must complete a Pre-Training Review, meet the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) skill standards for this program level, and demonstrate they are a suitable candidate for this program.

Regulatory

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age.

All candidates require a Unique Student Identification (USI) number. If you do not have a USI number you can apply for one online at https://www.usi.gov.au/students, or you can give MCIE administration staff permission to apply on your behalf.

Students with disabilities

MCIE welcomes all people with disabilities, learning differences and medical conditions. Acceptance in this program is subject to candidates’ ability to undertake all program requirements as discussed in the Pre-Training Review, with reasonable adjustments where applicable.

Digital technology

Students must have sufficient digital literacy skills to access online content, enter answers to written questions and communicate with trainers via email, the student portal and the learning management system.

Industry requirements

Candidates may be asked to provide evidence of the following for work placement (requirements vary according to host employer policies):

• National Police Check

• Working with Children Check

• Flu vaccination and COVID-19 vaccinations

Prior experience

Credit Transfer (CT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) are available. Credit Transfer is free of charge. RPL application fees are $145 per hour. Please click here for more information on RPL fees, terms and conditions.

Traineeship

This program is delivered in the workplace with approximately 6 hours of structured workplace training per month.

Assessment

Assessment tasks and strategies cover a wide range of methods and may include writing tasks, questions, projects or reports, practical demonstrations, group tasks, oral presentations, problem-solving tasks, case studies and discussions.

Work-placement

The work placement requirement of this qualification is 280 hours, which will be completed with your employer over the course of the traineeship.

This program provides a direct pathway into the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education at Victoria University. After graduating from this course, you can apply to have your Bachelor’s degree at Victoria reduced from 3 years to 2 years.