How to Become a Child Care Worker: 5 Things You Need to Know

Love working with kids? Being a childcare worker could be perfect for you. The early years of a child’s life are critical: they develop motor, sensory and social skills and learn about the world. In childcare, you have the chance to support and nurture children through the stages of their childhood development.

Childcare work is incredibly rewarding, and it’s also essential to society. We’d be stuck without our daycare workers, after school care providers and early childhood educators. Parents would be totally on their own, and single-parent families would find it impossible to make ends meet.

Childcare is an attractive career choice for many reasons, including:

• Fulfilling — You’ll form strong bonds with each individual child, and watch them learn and grow.
• In demand — Demand for childcare workers is skyrocketing — you’ll have no trouble finding work.
• Easy to access — Basic qualifications are quick to complete, with flexible study options (including traineeships).

There’s also plenty of room to dream bigger! If you discover you love helping the next generation get a great start, further training can open lots of doors. By building on your initial experience, you can grow an inspiring career in early learning and teaching.

Fateema Sabsabi, Campus Director at Only About Children Rose Bay

1. How to become a child care worker

At a minimum, child care workers in Australia need to have (or be actively working towards) a Certificate III in Early Childhood Care and/or Children’s services, including a mandatory 120 hours of work placement. You’ll also need a clean background check, and to hold any related first-aid training for the setting you’ll be working in.

2. What is a child care worker?

Child care workers (also referred to as daycare workers) provide care services for young children while their parents are unable to look after them. They help children through their daily routines, and teach social skills and encourage healthy development with play and activities. They can work in various settings, like after-school programs, nurseries, creches, family daycare, and private homes.

Evana Hapgood, Senior Educator at Expeditions Early Learning Journey Underwood

Roles and responsibilities

Child carers are responsible for fostering the development of children in their care, attending to their basic needs and organising daily activities, meal times, and playtime. 

A typical child care worker job description will include the following duties:

• Provide care for toddlers and young children
• Plan and implement early learning educational programs
• Organise games and recreational activities
• Prepare food and snacks
• Monitor kids’ hygiene
• Encourage interpersonal skills through mediating social interactions
• Take legal responsibility for children’s health and safety
• Supervise kids on play equipment
• Working as part of a close-knit team of carers

Safeguarding the health and safety of children is a big part of the job, and you should be familiar with Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics.

What skills do you need to be a childcare worker?

These skills are essential to any child-caring role:

• Verbal communication skills
• Planning and running activities
• Relating to children
• Critical thinking and decision making
• Compassion and patience
• Monitoring and evaluating children
• Problem-solving skills
• Fitness and stamina
• An understanding of the code of ethics in childcare

3. Is being a child care worker right for you?

That you love kids goes without saying in a childcare career, but there are many other traits that are vital to possess if you want to be a child carer. Before going further, ask yourself these six questions:

Working in childcare can be a rewarding experience, but it’s not for everyone. By taking the time to ask yourself these questions before you commence your studies and career in childcare, you can increase your chances of success.

Christial Arthy, Acting Centre Director at Expeditions Early Learning Journey Underwood

Where you’ll work

Childcare workers are employed in a range of different environments where childcare providers can be found, including:

• Child care centres
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Offices
• Outside school hours care
• Preschool education
• Early learning centres and creches

Outside of formal childcare facilities, you can be employed privately for in-home care as a nanny in which you may only be required to take care of a few children. In the long run, you may even be able to run your own home or family daycare.

As a childcare worker, you will also work irregular hours. Shift work is typical in childcare as they need people who are available to take care of children both before, after and during school times.

Childcare centres are very noisy, busy places, so be prepared to wrangle some chaos! Because the job is very active, you’ll need to be fit and healthy, with plenty of energy, to thrive in this work environment. You’ll be on your feet all day, there is heavy lifting involved, and the environment is fast-paced.

3. What to expect in your first job

Massive demand for childcare workers, with 30,000 new jobs

Childcare is a vast industry, employing over 150,000 Australians and growing at an incredible rate of 17% over the last five years. Before the pandemic hit, the Australian government estimated that a whopping 30,100 jobs would open up over the next five years.

This is most likely due to Australia’s growing population and increasing demand for parents to return to work after parental leave.

This is also a career with flexible working hours, with just over half of workers being part-time. This makes it an excellent choice for people who’d like time to pursue their interests outside of work, who are returning to work after starting their own family or planning on starting a family soon.

Childcare pay and salary expectations

Most childcare workers work part-time and are paid hourly, at an average of $23/hr. 

The typical salary for a full-time childcare worker is $49,556, with a range of $48,000-$61,000. Pay tends to increase with experience and higher qualifications and jumps significantly when people move into more senior roles.

5. What careers can a childcare course lead to?

If you wish to take on the role of manager or coordinator, you will also need to obtain a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. You must have a Certificate III before you can study for the Diploma. 

If you’re interested in moving into an education aide role, you could consider education support. A certificate or Diploma will allow you to become a teacher or assistant in early learning.

To move into teaching, consider taking on a bachelor degree in education. You can choose to major in or more one of the following areas:

• Early Childhood Education (Preschool or Kindergarten Teaching)
• Primary Education
• Disability Inclusion
• Physical Education/Sport

​​A qualification in childcare can open a range of opportunities for anyone looking to expand their horizons beyond a career as a childcare worker. Once you become qualified in childcare, you can upskill and move up into a more senior management role.

For example, a child care qualification can lead to a career as:

• Child care assistant
• Preschool assistant
• Education assistant
• Outside school hours aide
• Childcare centre manager
• Childcare worker (Day care worker)
• Nanny
• Au Pair
• Out of school hours care provider
• Childcare staff supervisor
• Children’s services coordinator

With further education and training, you could become a:

• Teacher’s aide
• Preschool teacher / Early childhood educator
• Primary school teacher
• Home daycare business owner

If you discover you love the educational aspects of the job, you can look at early learning as a career option and progress into early childhood education. There are also courses available that can qualify you in teaching children with disabilities and educational psychology.

Although it’s a tough and sometimes testing role, childcare is an incredibly rewarding and fast-growing industry that’s perfect for anyone with a love of children and a good ability to multitask.

You can begin building the starting blocks to your career in childcare by becoming qualified, continually upskilling and gaining hands-on experience in a child-caring role. Become a part of children’s development and help them both learn and grow by diving into a childcare career.