Thinking of becoming an early childhood trainee at Gowrie? Here’s what others have to say. We recently chatted to Hannah, who started their traineeship in February 2020 working four days and studying one day each week.
How did you hear about the traineeship at Gowrie?
“My grandmother actually worked in the early childhood sector for many, many years – starting off as a kindergarten teacher and eventually as an education consultant. She never worked for Gowrie, but she was aware that it had a very good reputation.”
What were you doing before you started at Gowrie?
“After high school I enrolled at Latrobe University studying International Development. I’m not sure whether it was because I wasn’t interested in the content or other factors, but I ended up dropping out.
I started working for the Red Cross, which I loved, but then all the funding got cut and I was made redundant. After that I worked for the Royal Flying Doctor Service doing outreach programs with primary schools – but got made redundant again. That’s when I decided to go overseas. I found a job in Morocco working for an NGO that provided English classes to adults and children.
When I came back to visit my family, COVID hit. My grandmother had been encouraging me to get qualifications for years and recommended that I went to Gowrie.
I was really worried about it, and I was sort of feeling like I wouldn’t do very well. I hadn’t done any proper learning or schooling in about six years, so I was really worried that I’d forgotten all of those skills.
I don’t know whether it was just the environment, the small classes, or how approachable and friendly my teacher Carolina was, but I did end up doing really well. Now I’m studying my Bachelor of Early Childhood Education which is just crazy – I never thought that would happen! Gowrie empowered me to do that and is supporting me along the way. I now have Mondays off to fit my study in.”
What has your experience been like so far with Gowrie?
“Amazing! I think I’ve been really lucky, because my teacher for my traineeship, Carolina, just went above and beyond and she made herself available over the phone any time. Then, when I was placed into a room, that team were all really supportive too. Everyone has been so great – it’s like a big family really.”
What’s been your proudest moment at Gowrie?
“So, when you start as a trainee, you’re above ratio, which means that you’re a team member, but you’re not counted in the educator-to-child ratios. I think it was my second week and my manager said I could be included in the ratios, and I just felt like, wow – these people see my worth! They usually they wait a little bit longer to let it a trainee do that, so I felt really proud of myself, and I felt like my skills were being recognised.”
Would you recommend being a Gowrie trainee to others?
“Yes, absolutely – I already have! I think it has been really beneficial to be working and studying at the same time, because you get paid. I feel like if I was studying and I had to pay that money without working, it would be really difficult to financially support myself.”
Early Childhood Education Traineeships at Gowrie
At Gowrie, we believe in real-world experiences and that people learn best by observing, reflecting, and doing. We support trainees who study towards their qualification with our Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and work alongside educators the rest of the week.
Contact Gowrie today to find out more.
