Government Funding - First Door Early Childhood Professional Learning

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDISED TRAINING

**First Door is dedicated to developing inspired, knowledgeable, skilled and valued educators**

First Door provides Queensland Government subsidised training, throughout Queensland. This means there is a range of options for eligible people to study for free, or for as little as $10 or $25 per unit.

There are many benefits for employing (or for becoming) an apprentice or trainee - to complete an Early Childhood qualification with First Door.

50% wage subsidy for employers: Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements

There's never been a better time for educators to complete their Early Childhood qualification as a trainee or an apprentice!

The benefits for students:

- FREE apprenticeships for people under 25 years - $0 course fees!
- apprentices and trainees over 25 years are charged a student co-contribution fee, instead of the full unit fee
- paid study time to complete training and assessment for 6 - 8 hours per month
- a supportive training partnership with your employer and First Door as the RTO (keep scrolling down for full information!)

The benefits for employers:

- supports recruitment and professional growth in your team (including for mentors and coaches)
- employer commencement and completion incentives

PLUS employers can receive the 50% wage subsidy - from the Australian Government for 12 months!

The employer receives the wage subsidy of 50% of wages paid to the new or recommencing apprentice, for a maximum of $7,000 per quarter
The subsidy is available for wages paid for a 12 month period from commencement of the apprenticeship or traineeship (for contracts signed until 31 March 2022)
After 12 months of receiving the wage subsidy, employers will be eligible to the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements (CAC) wage subsidy for the 2nd and 3rd year of the apprenticeship. See full details here.
Final claims must be lodged by 30 June 2025.
New or recommencing apprentices/trainees are able to be existing employees, providing their employment status improves:
- from casual to part time or full time contract, OR
- from part time to full time contract

Read Apprenticeship & Traineeship Employer information with full details of the benefits and responsibilities

Contact us or P: 07 3204 43356 to discuss Apprenticeship training with First Door

Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care: Funding options

Certificate 3 Guarantee - [Queensland VET Investment Program]

The Certificate 3 Guarantee (C3G) Queensland Government funding is for eligible school leavers and adults to complete their first Certificate lll qualification, providing they do not have any higher qualifications.

Please read the DET student fact sheet about C3G funding
Eligible students are required to contribute towards the cost of their course.
You will arrange for a monthly payment of $25 for the student contribution fee, as detailed in your fee payment agreement.

Read more about C3G training with First Door and to apply complete the C3G Agreement form

Fee-free training for Year 12 graduates

To be eligible for Year 12 Graduate fee-free training, you must:

meet the requirements of Certificate 3 Guarantee funding eligibilty.
have completed Year 12 in Queensland and hold a Senior Statement issued by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority or equivalent certification.
permanently reside in Queensland.
enrol in the Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care course, by the end of the calendar year following completion of Year 12.

If you are eligible for the fee-free training for Year 12 graduates then you are not requried to pay any unit fees or student contribution fees.
Please read the DET student fact sheet about Year 12 graduates fee-free training

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care: Funding options

Higher Level Skills - [Queensland VET Investment Program]

Higher Level Skills funding is for eligible people to upskill to a Diploma qualification. To apply for Higher Level Skills funding you may have previously achieved up to a Certificate lll qualification, but not higher than Certificate lll level.

Please read the student fact sheet about Higher Level Skills funding
Eligible students are required to contribute towards the cost of their course.
You will arrange for a monthly payment of $25 for the student contribution fee, as detailed in your fee payment agreement.

Read more about Higher Level Skills (HLS) training with First Door and complete the HLS Agreement form

Back to Work: Boost funding

Are you are a job seeker living in Queensland that has completed other qualifications? The Back to Work Program supports you to complete the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care course with First Door, at a concessional rate of $10 per unit.

You may also be eligible if you are:

at risk of losing your job and require reskilling to move into the Early Childhood profession, OR
needing to increase your hours of work.

To apply: Please complete this online application form. Your local Jobseeker Officer or Youth Jobseeker Officer will be in touch after the application has been received.

Government funding requirements

Citizenship criteria

To be eligible for Queensland Government subsidised training you must:

be an Australian citizen; or
be a New Zealand passport holder that has resided in Australia for the last six months
hold permanent residency status in Queensland

Student co-contribution fee

If you're eligible for Government funding towards the cost of your Early Childhood qualification, you will still need to pay $25 per unit as a portion of your study costs. This co-contribution fee includes all training costs, including your enrolment fee. First Door is required to charge and collect payment of the Student contribution fee, as detailed in Skills Assure Supplier Policy, for User Choice and Queensland VET Investment Programs.

Note: School students under 17 years of age in February of the year provided with training, and school graduates that start the course within 12 months of completing year 12 are able to study fee-free.

Apprenticeship or traineeship subsidised programs

An Apprenticeship and Traineeship is a three way partnership between the student, their employer and the Registered Training Organisation (First Door). We work together towards you achieving a Nationally recognised qualification in Early Childhood Education and Care.
Your workplace supervisor supports your 'on-the-job' training, and you are paid by your employer to participate in 'off-the-job' training with First Door.
Apprenticeships and Traineeships in Queensland are subsidised by the User Choice Program.

Free Apprenticeships for Under 25s

If you are under 25, this funding covers the full cost of training for apprentices and trainees who commence or are undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship for the Certificate lll or Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care qualification, until 30 June 2023.

Traineeship for the Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care

See full details about a Traineeship with First Door here
Trainees must be employed, as a minimum, on part time contract for 15 hours per week
Student contribution fees of $83 are paid by a monthly payment plan, however many fee exemptions apply.
Complete your traineeship fee-free if you are under 25 years of age.
Please read the information 'Steps to get started' about Apprenticeship and Traineeship.

School-based Traineeship for the Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care

Fee-free for Year 10 - Year 12 school students undertaking a school-based traineeship to complete this qualification.
School-based trainees are employed for 7.5 hours per week of paid employment. These hours may be averaged over a 3 month period. Over the period of a year, the employer must provide at a minimum the equivalent of 375 hours (50 days) of paid employment.
They must have met the minimum paid employment requirement, over 24 months nominal completion duration - 100 days minimum (750 hours) to complete this traineeship.
Section 120 of the National Regulations requires the approved provider of a centre-based service must ensure that any educator at the service who is under 18 years of age:
(a) does not work alone at the service; and
(b) is adequately supervised at all times by an educator who has attained the age of 18 years.

Apprenticeship for the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

See full details about an Apprenticeship with First Door here
Apprentices must be employed, as a minimum, on part time contract for 15 hours per week
Student contribution fees of $112 per unit are paid by a monthly payment plan, however many fee exemptions apply.
Complete your Apprenticeship fee-free if you are under 25 years of age.
Please read the DET information 'Steps to get started' about Apprenticeship and Traineeship.

Who is involved in an apprenticeship or traineeship program?

First Door as the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and Skills Assure supplier

First Door is Skills Assure Supplier, approved through the Queensland Government Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) to provide subsidised:

Apprenticeship training in the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Traineeship training for Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care

Your employer and workplace supervisor

Your employer needs to agree to your part-time or full-time employment; and, to provide the workplace resources, experiences and supervision for your ‘on-the-job training’.

Your workplace supervisor will support First Door in developing your practical skills at work. A workplace supervisor must be qualified to Diploma level, and be able to observe your related skills in the workplace before they are able to provide evidence of your practical skills.

Read Apprenticeship & Traineeship Employer information - with benefits & responsibilities

Apprenticeship Network provider

An Australian Network provider is your first point of contact for all queries about apprenticeships. They are contracted businesses by the Department of Education, Skill and Employment (e.g. MEGT, Sarina Russo and Busy at Work) and arrange your apprenticeship contract, with the apprentice, First Door, and your employer. The Australian Network provider also monitors your apprenticeship progress.

Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT)

DESBT fund the Apprenticeship program and ensure all regulations are met in your training experience. If you feel like some heavy reading, here is the User Choice 2020-21 Policy for full information about this funding!