25 July 2024

TAFE NSW Young has helped a recently arrived migrant launch a promising new career and play her part in addressing a critical skills shortage in the local childcare sector.

Mother-of-one Prity Pandey, a qualified accountant in her native India, arrived with her family in Young in  mid-2023 and sought an in-demand career in her adopted homeland.

The search led her to the doors of TAFE NSW Young, with Ms Pandey enrolling in a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care this year. Within months of commencing the course, she was offered a role as an early childhood educator at Goodstart Early Learning Young.

It comes as the early childhood sector grapples with a nationwide staffing crisis, a shortage of at least 10,000 trained early childhood educators, according to the Australian Childcare Alliance.

“We had a joint family arrangement in India so I spent a lot of time caring for kids, calming them and getting them into activities,” Ms Pandey said.

“When I arrived in Australia, I found it was a great opportunity to polish my skills and pursue a career in childcare, providing me a great profession with real job security.”

She said her TAFE NSW Young course helped “join the dots” for her, giving her important context about the local sector and the practical skills and experience to make an immediate impact in her new job.

“I had a complete blank about how this type of education worked in Australia; the legal requirements, regulations, how to plan activities to maximise a child’s cognitive, physical and social development,” she said. “This is my career now and TAFE NSW has given me the practical knowledge to work in the industry while I’m still studying.”

Ms Pandey intends to enrol in the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care at TAFE NSW next year and hopes to go on to complete a bachelor degree before eventually owning her own pre-school.

The NSW Government last year committed $12.2 million towards scholarships for early childhood educators to grow the state’s childcare workforce, while in February it announced 100 new public pre-schools would be build statewide by 2027.

TAFE NSW Young early childhood teacher Julie Kemp said employment outcomes for TAFE NSW graduates were exceptional and Ms Pandey was testament to that.

“There are new childcare centres popping up everywhere and they are screaming out to employ TAFE NSW graduates,” she said.

“It’s a wonderful job if you have a desire  to help others and have a positive impact on a child’s life. And no two days are ever the same.”

Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 0477 722 428