Gain the skills and qualification to work at a high level in children’s services with a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care at Victoria University Polytechnic.

You’ll develop skills in providing activities and care to children, with an emphasis on play-based learning. You’ll learn to facilitate learning and play in order to enable children to achieve developmental outcomes.

This practical course will prepare you to enter a rewarding industry where you’ll provide education and care to children during their most influential years. It includes five work placements and a first aid course.

Upon completion, you will be a qualified early childhood educator with skills and knowledge in:

• childhood development (aesthetic, creative, physical)
• planning for children with additional needs
• networking and family partnerships
• first aid, health and safety.

This industry-focused diploma will prepare you for a rewarding and varied career in children’s services. With this nationally recognised qualification, you’ll be able to work at a high level in early-childhood education and care. You’ll be confident to work in roles that require designing and developing curriculum and supervising staff.

Our graduates find work in preschools, childcare centres and family-daycare centres. Potential job titles include:

• children's services coordinator
• family-daycare coordinator
• team leader or room leader in a service
• early-childhood educator
• playgroup coordinator
• assistant director of early childhood services
• early-childhood educator – team leader
• reliever in early-childhood programs
• nanny.

Demand for childcare professionals in Melbourne’s west is set to remain high, with large population growth in the area. Over the next five years, employment is expected to grow strongly for:

• early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers
• childcare centre managers