Leanna David: Personally I do feel like it is for me, working with people, caring for people, tending to their needs, I feel like it’s very important for me.

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In my career I do want to pursue something in the healthcare industry. I really love the residents, their uniqueness, you really connect to them through food as well. I love when they smile, especially when I remember what they like. That’s kind of the highlight of my job, just talking to them, makes me really happy and that also makes their day.

Riley Scott: It took me quite a while to find what felt right for me, but, yeah, once I found the care industry I knew, yeah, that was where I belonged and I felt very much at home there. My first job in the care industry was in aged care. I did a college course, did work experience and I though I’d give disability a try. So I did a college course in disability. I got my disability cert 4 and then, um, work experience in disability and yup, been there ever since.

Thea Sison: I got into the industry because my mum recommended to me due to my personality and so I did try and give it a go and went to TAFE. I love working with the older generation and getting to know their stories and learn from them. It’s quite a big thing for me.

Nicole Hoste: I started in the care sector, uh, as kind of a late career change. I wanted to actually give back to the community, so I really wanted to do something very meaningful and what better industry to work in than, uh, supporting others.

Benjamin French: It does bring me, uh, a lot of joy. When you see someone, um, achieve their goal, there’s a real sense of accomplishment and a real sense of understanding that, uh,, you’ve been a part of something special that’s bigger than yourself, that’s not just self-serving but entirely at the service of somebody else.

Riley Scott: The most exciting aspect about the care industry for me is a lot of new opportunities and new things happening, um, but for me it just always comes back to spending time with the guys, it’s the most rewarding, the most fulfilling. Yeah, no matter what changes, that’s the constant that I’m there for.

Nicole Hoste: The main benefits to entering the care sector is the, the myriad of, uh, career paths. It’s actually quite infinite, the variety of things you can do within the sector and the ability for those skills and knowledge to be transferable into any role. There’s not a lot of sectors out there that are exactly like that.

Thea Sison: I know that I’m making a difference in their lives, even if it’s just a simple one by making them smile or even just bringing them the newspaper. I feel like it has a lot of, um, meaning to them knowing that there’s someone there looking out for them.

Leanna David: Throughout high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I wasn’t picky about my subjects either. I just knew that I wanted to complete high school.

Thea Sison: So, I studied at TAFE at Meadowbank, Cert 4 leisure and lifestyle, and what I found at TAFE is that it’s very hands on. They want you to succeed, not just theoretically, but practically, which helped me a lot, making it easier for me to integrate into the workforce.

Nicole Hoste: I studied a Diploma of Community Services at TAFE. Studying through TAFE actually really suited my lifestyle as well, like work, the content was really interesting, the support I got was great, it was a really good option.

Riley Scott: So some of the fun things we do, yeah we, ah, do lots of activities, bowling and movies and, uh, big picnic all together, barbeques, big walks, so it’s a lot of fun hanging out with everybody.

Thea Sison: We hold concerts and live entertainment. We try and bring all of the residents, where they enjoy to dance or socialise.

Nicole Hoste: It’s a real privilege to be involved in somebody’s life, so somebody to allow you to be able to help, um, support them, to mentor them and to really be an advocate for their choices.

Benjamin French: When entering into, um, work like this, you have to sort of come in with the attitude of I want to do something that’s bigger than myself, that is, ah, essentially in service of somebody else. Step outside of your comfort zone and trying to, sort of, focus on being able to help others be able to reach their full potential.

Nicole Hoste: I would recommend a career in the care sector because the opportunities are endless. There’s no reason why you can’t do anything in this sector. The career paths are varied. You could be studying accountancy and work in this sector. You can, you can be, uh, studying anything from medicine, physiotherapy, speech pathologist, any of those allied health services. But you can also enter the sector as a support worker and then follow my career path into operational leadership and become, uh, you know, uh, into people and culture and end up owning your own business.

People need a sense of purpose and people want to care and be kind and this is a great sector to be able to give back.

Riley Scott: I’d recommend the care industry to students because it provides them meaningful work and a sense of fulfilment. When you’re young there’s a sense of pressure to decide right away what you want to do and commit to it, but until you give it a go, you won’t know what’s for you. I would recommend thinking about the care industry and if you are an empathetic person and you think giving enjoyment to other people would be fulfilling for you, I would recommend trying it out.

Leanna David: Some advice that I would give to students that are willing to join the care industry is to just go for it. Seek some experience in this industry. It doesn’t matter what role, as long as you seek some experience, it’s a good start. You provide care that really gives this close connection to you and the residents. It’s a nice feeling, having a close connection with them.

Rachel George: I honestly think that this career is an amazing career. It's so rewarding. It's joyful. Being given the opportunity to help shape little people's lives is an amazing feeling. It's an incredible opportunity to see them grow and learn right in front of your eyes.

I've always had a passion to work with children. I'm very nurturing, maternal, um, and who wouldn't. They just provide so much joy. Every single day is different.

Casey Goodman: I joined the early childhood sector because I had a really keen interest in working with young children. Um, I'd known about that interest in myself from a young age. However, I hadn't really given that much thought until I entered my certificate three in early childhood. Um, once I entered the sector, I noticed that that interest really grew.

Charles Hipkin: I started working with children as soon as I finished school. So back in, yeah, 2010, I did a gap year over in the UK, started working with children. Um, I was really interested in seeing them learn and being part of that learning and their development.

Megan Sao: I love that I can run around on my feet. The children are chasing you, you're chasing the children. Walking in everyone is always so happy, like it's not a sad environment, it’s very positive and uplifting and like a happy environment, which, like, makes, always make me feel so much better.

Ramesh Shrestha: Definitely, definitely the children. Like, it's almost a privilege to be there and see them learn and grow. There's so much going on in the single day, and there's so much learning happening, so much messy play happening, so much fun going around. It's almost like a vibrant community where you are just throwing ideas. It's like a science lab where ideas are coming, experiments are being done, things are being built and they are being destroyed and they are being rebuilt again. It's such an exciting place to be in.

Cassandra Davis: One of the best things has been seeing the relationship I've built with my group, and over the year, how some of my children are at the age where they're finally starting to talk, and they're saying my name for the first time you realize, did you just say Cas? And they're looking at you smiling, and they're like, yeah, Cas. And it's the best feeling like you realize how important you are, and so like it's such a joy.

Casey Goodman: I think the most exciting aspect of the early childhood sector is the amount of career opportunities that we have, um, available to us in many different areas of interests and passions, whether it be sustainability, reconciliation, you know, health and well-being, you know, this, this, the many career options that we have. It's not just limited to the classrooms that we teach in.

Cassandra Davis: You have so many opportunities in terms of to what level you want to get your education. So there's a lot of movement and flexibility within centres as to what you need and what they need. And then, yeah, so every time I studied, I could rearrange my working hours to suit and support me to be able to study. And a lot of flexibility, a lot of support when I had to do practice and placements through those processes as well. So, yeah, there's a lot of, a lot of ways that your centre can support you to get to the goals that you want to do.

Casey Goodman: I got into early childhood education and care through, um, a TAFE pathway. Was really great, and really valuable in my current learning. I did my diploma, my certificate three online. So I did a sort of distance education arrangement where I was being able to work, uh, almost full-time and study at the same time. It was a really great combination for me.

Charles Hipkin: Working through TAFE the teachers are really supportive, lots of contact time, um, lots of really comprehensive feedback and responsiveness to the work that I was providing as well, which I found really beneficial to then, you know, take it to the next step.

Ramesh Shrestha: After a couple of years, I would like to do my master’s in educational leadership as well. And when I have gotten that qualification and gotten some more experience, I would like to go back to my country and try to change the school system and the learning that goes in my country. The goal is definitely to nurture a more conscious global citizen in the future. And it's an opportunity for you to do that. So, um, if you have an opportunity to do change the world, then why not?

Megan Sao: The advice I would give to a student is definitely go talk to your careers advisor and then, um, try and get work experience at an early childhood centre. Everyone was so supportive and, like, with my traineeship, when I needed help, if I needed help, like, they're always there to help me.

Cassandra Davis: You wake up every day wanting to go to work. You enjoy going to work. You want to be there. The world is your oyster. And there are so many opportunities for you to grow and develop.

Rachel George: I recommend all students to explore this sector because of the pure joy. It's, it’s just so rewarding.