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Wooden building blocks with text - The Future of the Early Childhood Education Profession: Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Capacity Study

The Future of the Early Childhood Education Profession

The Australia Government commissioned Jobs and Skills Australia to undertake a capacity study on the workforce needs for Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. The study has been undertaken in partnership with HumanAbility, the Jobs and Skills Council with responsibility for the Children’s Education and Care, Aged and Disability, Health, Human Services, and Sport and Recreation industries. The study was overseen by a steering group with representatives from various sectors, including peak bodies, specialist groups, trade unions and researchers. The consultation paper for the study was published on 20th November 2023, attracting over 50 submissions. Extensive stakeholder engagement opportunities were undertaken throughout the duration of the study to ensure an authentic picture of workforce practices were captured. The study provides critical evidence, insights, and recommendations as appropriate to support current and future workforce planning, including a detailed understanding of the current state and future needs of the sector’s workforce to support the development of Government strategy and vision on early years education and care of Australia’s children. It focuses on ECEC workforce and skills issues, particularly attraction and retention, to complement the broader scope of other inquiries being undertaken in this space. The study establishes a comprehensive overview of the sector’s challenges, detailing 28 key findings and makes 41 recommendations on a suggested path forward that not only addresses current challenges, but builds strong foundations for rewarding ECEC careers. The study has been conducted with consideration of the Productivity Commission (PC)’s and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)’s inquiries into the ECEC sector in Australia, and other policy developments.

September 3, 2024
employers experience recruiting mature age workers

Mature age workers and the labour market

Jobs and Skills Australia’s Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (of around 1,000 employers each month) sought views about their experiences with mature age job applicants and the kinds of strategies and programs employers typically used to assist successful mature age applicants into the workplace. Key findings    Just over one third of employers reported having a mature age applicant in the previous 12 months. Employers commonly hired a mature age applicant because of their experience, positive attitude, strong work ethic and qualifications and/or skills. When an employer hadn’t employed a mature age applicant, experience and qualification and/or skills were some of the reasons mature aged candidates were not hired for the vacancy. The strategy most used by employers to support mature age workers was allowing flexible work conditions. That included flexible work hours, part-time hours, and flexible location such as working from home. However, it should be noted that almost three quarters of the employers that had implemented flexible work conditions for the successful mature applicants cited that they were available to all staff. About the Recruitment Experience and Outlook Survey (REOS) report As part of the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS), we contact employers across Australia to learn about their recruitment experiences and activity. Included in the survey between August and November 2023, a temporary question module was added on a topic of interest. We asked employers how they go about recruiting for new staff and the skills and qualities they were looking for. We spoke with 3,014 employers who were all directly involved with the recruitment of staff of which 1,025 had had a mature age applicant in the last 12 months. Find out more on the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey page.

August 27, 2024