Thinking of becoming an early childhood trainee? Hear what others have to say.

Rebecca is an Early Childhood Educator at Gowrie Carlton North and has recently been promoted to a leadership support role. Before becoming a trainee, she worked in hospitality for ten years, managing a bar. In 2019, Rebecca saw an advertisement that explained how the Victorian government were providing payments to those wanting to undertake diplomas in early childhood education and care.

I was really intrigued because I never thought it was a possibility for me. I had never thought about childcare before. So, I started looking for places to study and came across Gowrie. I went into Carlton North for a little visit and straight away I just fell in love with it.”

What has your experience as a trainee been like?

“It was a big, but fun, learning curve because I’d never really been around children before. I immediately found that it was really supportive environment, and the management was amazing.

On my first day I didn’t know how to do anything. I didn’t know how to change a nappy, run morning tea, and didn’t know how to make playdough. The team I had were brilliant – especially considering they were teaching someone who had absolutely no experience. They made the whole thing so fun and the children themselves were really great.

It’s gorgeous at Carlton North and I feel so lucky coming into work every day, especially because I’m such an outdoorsy person. It’s like one big home – one big family.”

What has been your favourite moment at Gowrie?

“Last year, because of COVID, there was a point where we couldn’t have very many families in the service, and it could have been a really stressful time. But we were constantly thinking of new ideas – especially around building connections for children.

We would make little videos every week of us playing silly games and we would create scavenger hunts so that children could walk around Carlton North and then post what they found on our internal website.

There was one day where we transformed a whole room into a boxed cardboard city specifically for the children to destroy. They changed the city into costumes for themselves, breaking arm holes in the boxes and turning themselves into robots. I just remember thinking this should be a really stressful time but look at how much fun everyone’s having.”

Would you recommend Gowrie traineeships to others?

“I would definitely recommend being a trainee to other people it’s a really easy way to change careers – especially if you haven’t had any prior learning. My advice would be to just jump into it. I was nervous about changing careers and starting a traineeship, especially because I hadn’t worked with children before, but I’m so glad I did it.

The traineeship made studying super easy because you learn so much from practical hands-on work to complement your qualification. You’re surrounded by amazing people who are passionate about what they do and are always so supportive.”

Ready to become an early childhood educator?

We offer the minimum qualification to work in early childhood – the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, as well as the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. If you aren’t sure which qualification to do, we can help you decide.

Call Jenny today on 1300 446 974 to discuss your career in early childhood education and care.