Photo: Early Learning on Rossi students Willow and Knox Blundell (Supplied)
Local childcare centre, Early Learning on Rossi is on the lookout for new workers to join their team.
Husband and wife team Troy and Erin Allen bought the centre in June last year, which was previously owned by Yass Little Learners.
The pair own a boutique group in the Early Childhood Care and Education sector with six centres across NSW.
Troy said it’s been a bit of a struggle throughout the pandemic but is hoping to source more staff locally.
Due to regulated staff to children ratios, childcare centres must retain a specific level of staff to continue caring for the number of children at their centre.
Centres need one childcare worker to four babies, one worker to five toddlers, and one worker to ten pre-schoolers.
Troy said they are aiming to recruit as many staff as they can in the coming months in the hopes of relieving Early Learning’s waitlist of children.
The centre is looking for people either qualified with a Certificate III, Diploma or Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Care or those looking to enter the industry.
New employees don’t need to be immediately qualified they only need to be studying towards a Cert III or higher.
Troy said Early Learning can either cover the cost of employees’ Cert III study or provide aid for them to do so.
Whether you’re in a similar industry like disability or aged care, looking for a career change, kickstarting your career, or a mum or dad getting back into the workforce then this may be the rewarding role for you.
Early Learning on Rossi offers a flexible working environment for parents with a 95 per cent discount for any staff with children in childcare or after-school care.
The new measure was only introduced earlier this year by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment in an effort to attract and retain workers in the industry. The discount will not affect the employee’s Child Care Subsidy entitlement.
Although the measure is entirely optional with many other early childhood educators offering lower discounts up to the maximum, Early Learning on Rossi has chosen to offer the full discount of 95 per cent across their six centres.
The discount includes school-aged children and Early Learning offers a taxi that picks up local students after school and brings them back to the centre where they have afternoon tea and care.
Committed and experienced childcare operators, Troy and Erin have a well-supplied craft budget. In particular, Erin has previously worked designing over 200 childcare centres and has been in the industry itself for over 25 years.
Additionally, Troy said there is 100 per cent room for career growth.
“They’ve got plenty of support around them and plenty of resource budgets.”
Employees also receive a monthly mental health day and an extra $1/hour if they complete their full 75 hours of work over the fortnight without having a sick day. Workers also receive three hours of QIP time (Quality Improvement Plan) off the floor for study and Work Health and Safety Officers receive two.
New Director at Early Learning on Rossi, Yass local Diana Honan, loves her new role working close to home. Her daughter, who now attends Mt Carmel, also previously attended the centre from eight months old.
After beginning nearly eight weeks ago, Diana said it was great working with the children and the job was so much fun.
“I can’t fault the centre at all,” she said. “It’s an amazing centre, they do everything above board.”
“All the policies are adhered to and it’s a really lovely centre.”
“The new owners have actually done so much in regard to presenting the rooms, cleanliness, the spaces are opened,” she said. “It has really changed since Troy and Erin took over.”
With a background in office management and government, Diana was new to the industry but is enjoying the career change.
“I don’t have to travel into Canberra and it’s something new, something different, something that made me think about things.”
“It’s a huge difference, especially with the price of fuel.”
Diana said she is enjoying meeting parents and becoming more involved in the community now that she works locally.
“I would recommend anyone to come and give it a go because actually, it’s a really good team to work with,” she said. “The parents are beautiful, and the children are absolutely adorable.”
If you’re interested in applying, please email director@earlylearningonrossi.com.au or call (02) 6226 2982.
By Brianna O’Rourke
