Preschool Aides

ANZSCO ID 422115

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
3,800
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
24%
Female Share
98%
Average age
45

Summary

Preschool Aides provide care and supervision for children at preschool centres under the direction of Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers.

Specialisations: Kindergarten Assistant.

A certificate III or IV in education support or early childhood education and care is usually needed to work as a Preschool Aide.

Tasks

  • Demonstrates, supervises and participates in activities which enhance the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of children in schools and pre-school centres.

  • Prepares indoor and outdoor areas for learning and recreational activities.

  • Assists children with intellectual, physical and behavioural difficulties with their academic studies.

  • Assists children individually to learn social skills.

  • Assists with preparing teaching aids, and copying and collating written and printed material.

  • Distributes and collects lesson materials.

Characteristics

Job Type
Community And Personal Service Workers
Skill Level
Lower skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light
  • Medium

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Education Aides, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 24% of people employed as Preschool Aides work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 42 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 39 hours per week in their main job. This is 5 hours less than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Education and Training
83.0%
2
Health Care and Social Assistance
10.7%
3
Public Administration and Safety
4.9%
4
Administrative and Support Services
0.2%
5
Other industries
0.6%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

12.7% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

47.8% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

13.6% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

4.0% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

16.7% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

0.3% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.4% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

3.5% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Preschool Aides All Jobs Average
NSW 12.7 31.6
VIC 47.8 25.6
QLD 13.6 20.0
SA 4.0 7.0
WA 16.7 10.8
TAS 0.3 2.0
NT 1.4 1.0
ACT 3.5 1.9


  • Around 62% of Preschool Aides live in capital cities, similar to the all jobs average of 62%.

    Victoria and Western Australia have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
45
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
98%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Preschool Aides is 45 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 98% of the workforce. This is 50 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Preschool Aides All Jobs Average
15-19 1.8 5.0
20-24 5.6 9.3
25-34 12.3 22.9
35-44 28.4 22.0
45-54 30.6 21.6
55-59 12.4 9.0
60-64 6.4 6.0
65 and Over 2.6 4.2
Median Age 45 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A certificate III or IV in education support or early childhood education and care is usually needed to work as a Preschool Aide.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Community Services VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Preschool Aides All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 8.0 10.1
Bachelor degree 12.2 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 29.4 11.6
Certificate III/IV 35.3 21.1
Year 12 8.4 18.1
Year 11 2.5 4.8
Year 10 and below 4.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Education Aides who have strong interpersonal skills, can communicate well as part of a team and are motivated.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 52%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 46%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 45%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 45%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 45%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 45%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 45%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 45%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 43%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 41%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 39%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 37%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 36%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 34%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 32%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 29%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 25%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 20%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 50%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 50%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 49%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 49%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 40%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 39%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 36%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 36%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 36%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 35%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 30%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 29%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 28%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 27%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 27%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 20%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 19%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 14%

    Fine arts

    Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

  • 13%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 11%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 50%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 46%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 46%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 45%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 45%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 45%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 45%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 43%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 41%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 41%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 41%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 37%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 32%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 30%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 30%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 30%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 67%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 58%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 57%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 56%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 55%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 52%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 47%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 47%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 46%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 45%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 44%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 44%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 43%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 42%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 42%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 41%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 40%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 40%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 38%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 31%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 76%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 52%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 43%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 38%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 14%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 86%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 62%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 48%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 48%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 48%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 43%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 94%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 92%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 89%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 85%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 77%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 76%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 71%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 71%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 68%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 65%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 65%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 64%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 63%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 62%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 60%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 60%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 59%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 57%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 54%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 52%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 25-9041.00 - Teacher Assistants.


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