Certificate 3 Guarantee – CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

To be eligible to receive government funding under the Certificate 3 Guarantee program, individuals must:

• be a Queensland resident;
• be aged 15 years or over, and no longer at school (with the exception of VET in Schools students);
• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident (including humanitarian entrants), or a temporary resident with the necessary visa and work permits on the pathway to permanent residency; and
• not hold, or not be enrolled in, a certificate III level or higher qualification (not including qualifications completed at school and foundations skills training).

Note: The entitlement under the Certificate 3 Guarantee program is for one government subsidised Certificate III qualification only.

Additional requirements: Any person working with children must undergo a criminal history check and be eligible for a Positive Notice ‘Blue Card’. Application forms are available from the Queensland Public Safety Business Agency at www.bluecard.qld.gov.au

There are 17 units in total – 15 compulsory units and 2 elective units must be completed for this qualification.

Compulsory Units

1. HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an education and care setting *
2. CHCECE056 Work effectively in children’s education and care
3. CHCECE055 Meet legal and ethical obligations in children’s education and care
4. CHCPRT001 Identify and respond to children and young people at risk
5. HLTWHS001 Participate in workplace health and safety
6. CHCECE031 Support children’s health, safety and wellbeing
7. CHCECE033 Develop positive and respectful relationships with children
8. CHCECE034 Use an approved learning framework to guide practice
9. CHCECE035 Support the holistic learning and development of children
10. CHCECE030 Support inclusion and diversity
11. CHCECE054 Encourage understanding of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures
12. CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers
13. CHCECE038 Observe children to inform practice
14. CHCECE036 Provide experiences to support children’s play and learning
15. CHCECE037 Support children to connect with the natural environment

Electives

The following units are suggested electives based on consultation with the Education and Care sector. Where a student wishes to complete a different elective this may be discussed with their ECTARC Training and Development Officer.

1. HLTFSE001 Follow basic food safety practices
2. CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people

Please note:

For a full list of electives, please visit training.gov.au/Training/Details/CHC30121

* First Aid Unit

The unit HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an education and care setting must be completed with an external registered training provider. A copy of the Statement of Attainment must be forwarded to ECTARC before the completion of the course. ECTARC will guide you through this process. See ‘Fees’ section below for further details.

First aid certificates expire every 3 years. Where the first aid certificate expires throughout the enrolment period, you will be required to renew this with an external registered training provider. To find an external registered training provider, please visit yourcareer.gov.au/learn-and-train/training-providers

Units within this qualification require students to complete work placement hours in a regulated early childhood education and care service within Australia. These hours may be completed as part of the student’s paid employment or as an unpaid practicum. An ECTARC Training and Development Officer will visit the workplace to assess students on the job and/or via video conferencing throughout the qualification.

Work placement requirements – 160 hours

• 20 hours – Birth-12 months – Babies
• 20 hours – 13-23 months – Babies
• 40 hours – 2-3 years – Toddler
• 80 hours – 3-5 years – Preschool

Please note: Where you are employed in an education and care service that has the required ages/groups, these hours can be completed within your workplace. Where all required ages/groups are not available in your workplace these hours must be completed as a practicum at another regulated education and care service.

Certain units have work placement hours that are required to be completed before the unit is deemed competent. ECTARC Training and Development Officers can provide further information.

The Certificate 3 Guarantee program is a self-paced program undertaken via flexible delivery and includes a combination of phone support, free on-line webinars, self-paced learning materials, practical training and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). ECTARC students receive support from their personal ECTARC Training and Development Officer by phone, portal messaging and email.  ECTARC students have access to the online ECTARC Training Portal where they can access learning materials and submit assessments.  Students will require access to a computer and the internet to undertake this course. Through the ECTARC Training Portal students can also:

– message their Training and Development Officer
– upload forms and documents
– view marked assessment tasks – students are notified as soon as an assignment is marked
– access resources – additional information and documentation to support learning.

The ECTARC Training Portal is available through secure market leading technology and students find it very easy to use. The ECTARC Training Portal increases communications with students and ensures valuable information is available when required and provides access to their student records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If for some reason you do not have access to the internet, please contact our office to arrange an alternative study solution. Hard copies of learning materials can also be provided on request.

ECTARC guarantees that a Training and Development Officer is always available to speak to Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Tuesday evenings 5pm to 7pm.

Access to the Training Portal on completion

All students will have 14 days access to the ECTARC Training Portal after their course completion date to download content and any completed assessments for future reference. To download completed assessments, go to the relevant unit and click on the ASSIGNMENTS link to view your assessment tasks. Click on the assessment task you wish to copy and then right click on your mouse and choose the PRINT function. Change the destination from your printer to the PDF setting and click SAVE. If you have any questions regarding the saving of your online content, please call 02 4223 1111.

All participants are required to contribute towards the cost of their training and assessment services. This is called a co-contribution fee. The participant co-contribution fees are calculated at a rate of 0.65c per nominal hour for each unit of competency being undertaken.

APPROXIMATE FEES

$720.20 – Full fee

$288.08 – Concession

First Aid Unit

The first aid component HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an education and care setting must be completed externally through a registered training provider of the student’s choice. Where eligible, ECTARC will cover the cost on behalf of the student. The nominated registered training provider must invoice ECTARC for the cost of HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an education and care setting and reference the student’s name on the invoice. Payments will be made within 7 days of receiving the invoice.

What you need to read…

Students are required to read the following documentation and ECTARC policies prior to commencing the online Enrolment Application Form (this will be sent to you by email from ECTARC) to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities before enrolling:

• QLD Certificate 3 Guarantee Information Handbook (CHC30121 & 10983NAT)
• ECTARC Fee Schedule
• ECTARC Course Guide

What you need to get ready…

To complete the online enrolment application form, students need to provide:

• a valid Unique Student Identifier (USI) number.
• photo identification – driver’s licence, passport or proof of age card – take a photo of the document so it is ready to upload.
• evidence of citizenship – birth certificate, passport or green medicare card – take a photo of the document so it is ready to upload.
• give permission on the USI website for ECTARC to view their USI records (if applying for credit transfer only). Note: Where study was completed prior to 2015 or has not yet been reported, the student must provide a copy of their transcript for ECTARC to verify with the training provider.

Foundation Skills

ECTARC Training Services is required to ensure that a chosen qualification is suitable for the potential student and to identify any individual support needs throughout the enrolment application process. One way we do this is by identifying the level of foundation skills of each potential student.

‘Foundation skills’ is the term that Australian Government agencies use to cover both Core Skills and Employability Skills.

The five Core Skills are:

• Reading
• Writing
• Numeracy
• oral communication, and
• learning;

The Employability Skills are:

• teamwork
• problem solving
• initiative and enterprise
• planning and organising
• self-management
• learning, and
• technology.

It is also important that students have the necessary digital skills to complete the tasks required when engaging in online learning.

After ECTARC receives the Enrolment Application Form, all applicants will receive an email that has 2 links which will provide access to two (2) short quizzes – the ECTARC LLN Quiz and ECTARC Course Ready Quiz. Once completed, ECTARC will contact the applicant to organise completion of the oral component, which consists of a short discussion to discuss things like the students goals and current work experience. They will also discuss the outcomes of the quizzes where required. Both quizzes and the oral component must be completed for the enrolment process to be finalised.

It’s a regulatory requirement that if you’re studying nationally recognised training in Australia from 1 January 2015, you will be required to have a Unique Student Identifier (USI). Your USI links to an online account that contains all your training records and results (transcript) that you have completed from 1 January 2015 onwards. When applying for a job or enrolling in further study, you will often need to provide your training records and results (transcript). One of the main benefits of the USI is the ability to provide students with easy access to their training records and results (transcript) throughout their life. You can access your USI account online from your computer, tablet or smart phone anytime.

How do you get a USI?

Visit www.usi.gov.au/students/get-a-usi

Follow the steps here to get a USI. It is easy and quick to do. When you enrol online you will be required to enter your USI number.

For detailed information on the USI please visit the Australian Government’s Department of Industry website at visit www.usi.gov.au/

Identification

On enrolment you are required to upload a copy of photo identification (e.g driver’s licence, passport or proof of age card). Your ECTARC Training and Development Officer will need to sight the original document during your sign up which may occur in person or via webinar.

Evidence of Citizenship

On enrolment you are required to upload a copy of  a document that demonstrates your citizenship such as birth certificate, passport or green medicare card. Your ECTARC Training and Development Officer will need to sight the original document during your sign up which may occur in person or via webinar.

Previous Qualifications

The Australian Governments’ Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) 2015 requires RTO’s, such as ECTARC, to authenticate VET qualifications, Statement of Attainments and transcripts that are provided by students for the purposes of granting credit transfer or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). To do this students must provide copies of qualifications, Statements of Attainments and/or transcripts to ECTARC and grant permission for ECTARC to view their records on the USI Portal at www.usi.gov.au

Where permission is not granted, ECTARC will contact the issuing RTO for verification.

Please note

ECTARC requires all documentation and relevant information before fully processing enrolments. Training will not commence until all documentation is received. We want to ensure that you get any credit transfer or RPL you are entitled to and that all regulatory requirements are met.

What is RPL?

RPL is an assessment process where candidates provide evidence of previous experience to demonstrate that they hold the required skills and knowledge of one or more units of competency. Previous experience may include (but is not limited to) paid or voluntary work, life experience, professional development or formal qualifications.

Can I apply for RPL?

RPL is suited to candidates who have demonstrated experience in an education and care service or equivalent. ECTARC recommends experience of a minimum of 5 years for those wishing to apply for RPL for a full qualification, in a variety of roles within an education and care service.  This however, is very dependent on the individual experiences, so we encourage anyone wanting to learn more about RPL to contact ECTARC to discuss this further.

What evidence is required?

The candidate must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate their competence against an entire unit of competency. For each unit, the following tasks provide the candidate with the opportunity to ensure that sufficient evidence can be gathered:

• Competency Conversation – An ECTARC Training and Development Officer (TDO) will discuss with the candidate their previous experiences to determine the extent of their skills and knowledge for each unit of competency. In addition to this, throughout the assessment process, and where appropriate, Competency Conversations may also be used to confirm competence where sufficient evidence has not been provided.
• Practical Assessment – Every unit of competency includes practical skills that must be demonstrated within a regulated education and care service within Australia. The candidate will be observed in the workplace to ensure that they are performing these skills to the standards required. In some cases, simulations may be conducted and evidence may be submitted by video to support the practical assessment.
• Portfolio – The candidate provides a portfolio of evidence of previous experiences, such as testimonials, copies of former qualifications, statements of participation in professional development, photographs and examples of their own work. This evidence is assessed and mapped by an ECTARC TDO to the requirements of a unit.

Credit Transfer

Credit Transfer is different to RPL in that the student already has completed a unit of competency in a previous qualification. To be granted Credit Transfer, ECTARC requires evidence of successful completion of the unit; this can be provided through the USI Portal or a certified copy of a transcript or Statement of Attainment. Once this evidence is verified, Credit Transfer will be granted.

Example: Tania has been working in a primary school as an education support worker for  the past 6 years. Two years ago she completed the CHC40213 Certificate IV in Education Support, which included the unit CHCPRT001 Identify and respond to children and young people at risk. Over the past year, Tania has also been volunteering in the outside school hours care that is provided within the school and has decided she would like to complete the CHC50213 Diploma of School Age Education and Care. Tania enrols with ECTARC and has a competency conversation with an ECTARC TDO and an assessment plan is developed for her. Tania is granted a credit transfer for the unit CHCPRT001 Identify and respond to children and young people at risk and the TDO decides that she has sufficient experience to apply for RPL for a number of units relating to the development of children aged 5-12 years, developing relationships with children and supporting the behaviour of children. The remainder of units will be completed through the training and assessment pathway, where Tania will receive her learning materials and assessment tasks on the ECTARC Training Portal and will be supported by her ECTARC TDO to complete these.

Eligible?

If you think you may be eligible for RPL or credit transfer be sure to discuss this with ECTARC and/or provide relevant information and documentation when enrolling as it can save you time and/or money.

The CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care is an entry level qualification for anyone wishing to commence a career in the early childhood sector or for someone who has been working in the industry for a number of years who wishes to formally recognise their knowledge and skills.

The Education and Care Services National Regulations state that an educator at a centre-based service who is educating and caring for children preschool age or under are required to meet the relevant educator to child ratios for the service must have, or be actively working towards, at least an approved Certificate III level education and care qualification (Section 126 b). A family day care educator must have, or be actively working towards, at least an approved Certificate III level education and care qualification (Section 127).

QLD Skills Assure

ECTARC has been awarded Skills Assure contract to deliver traineeships, apprenticeships and funded training throughout Queensland. To enrol your educator in a traineeship or apprenticeship course please call Natalie Fernandes on 02 4223 1111 or email Natalie@ectarc.com.au  For more information on Skills Assure please visit https://desbt.qld.gov.au/training/docs-data/strategies/vet-strategy/skills-assure

User Choice

The Department of Employment, Small Business and Training supports traineeships and apprenticeships under the Further Education and Training Act 2014. The Department is committed to improving education and care for children by assisting people to gain recognised qualifications, through the provision of the QLD User Choice program.

The QLD User Choice program requires the parties to contact an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP) provider to facilitate the signing of a training contract. The State government pays Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) for training, with a nominal fee for training charged to the trainee/apprentice. An Australian traineeship or apprenticeship consists of a combination of training and paid employment, either under the National Training Wage or a workplace agreement. The Queensland QLD User Choice program enables apprentices, trainees and their employers to select a preferred Registered Training Organisation (RTO) from a list of Pre-qualified Suppliers for the delivery of accredited training to meet their specific needs.

The QLD User Choice program also reflects the Department’s priority for supporting the creation of genuine new job opportunities, and for allowing young people the opportunity to more easily make the transition from school to work. Further information about eligibility, rights, roles and requirements for employers, employees, parents and staff is available from the DESBT website https://desbt.qld.gov.au or by calling 13 74 68.

For more information on ECTARC’s policies such as complaints, refunds and privacy please click here.