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Is a career in childcare for you? 
Working with children is not for everybody and before embarking on such a career you should know that you love the job!!
Before embarking on a training course for the first time maybe you should contact a local childcare service and ask if you can do some voluntary work experience, even for a week or two. This will give you valuable insight as to what working in childcare is all about. It will also help you to decide if you have any preferences for the different age groups of children. Maybe you might feel that you prefer working with babies to pre-school age children or vice versa. It will also show you what to expect in terms of knowledge and skills you need. You will also get lots of ideas and opinions of the childcare sector as a whole from the existing staff in the service.
The Pre-School Regulations 2006 says that a “service shall ensure that a sufficient number of suitable and competent adults are working directly with pre-school children… at all times”. In the Explanatory Guide to the Pre-School Regulations 2006 it is stated that many childcare staff are working towards achieving a qualification. It goes on to say that “in centre based services it is considered that the person in charge should aim to have at least fifty percent of childcare staff with a qualification appropriate to the care and development of children”.
If your childcare service is or aims to participate in the new Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme (ECCE) there is a criteria that the pre-school leader should have a minimum FETAC level 5 qualification or equivalent. For the first two years of the scheme (2009-2011) there is an interim measure which allows anyone who is working towards their FETAC level 5 to meet the requirements. By 2012 all pre-school leaders must have minimum FETAC level 5. In order to qualify for the higher capitation rate of €75 per childcare place the leader must hold a LEVEL 7 or 8 on the NQF and have three years experience in childcare and the pre-school assistant must have a FETAC level 5. For the first 20 children you will have a leader and an assistant. If your numbers go above 20, the second leader must also have a level 7 or 8 and again if your numbers go above 30 the second assistant will need a level 5.
This section looks at childcare training and career options including what childcare courses are available and where you can do them and what qualifications you can obtain. We will show you where your qualifications fit into the National Framework of Qualifications. Some people have completed training in England or Northern Ireland; you can see how these qualifications compare with the Irish system. This is especially relevant now for anybody working in services who are participating in the Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme.
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