Blog

As the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector continues to face an unprecedented workforce shortage, organisations such as Macquarie Community College are stepping up to the plate to prepare and deploy a skilled workforce in the ECEC sector. From its most recent cohort of graduates, 85% of the students enrolled in the course have gone on to gain employment in various related positions. To celebrate the success of Macquarie Community College’s Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, we spoke to graduates Palakshi and Payal on their experiences in the course and what they’re up to now.

We welcome 2023 with much excitement as we return to some kind of norm. There is something about starting a new year that encourages us to pause and reflect on how we can improve ourselves. Most of us will make that annual new year's resolution. Whether it's "exercise more", "change careers", and "learn new things", here are some tips on how to keep those plans in place and follow through your resolutions for 2023.

Last week we held our Staff Recognition event – this event celebrates our great team members who are recipient of Anniversary Awards, Teaching Excellence Awards and Staff Excellence Awards. It has been another year of achievement for the Community College – and all of our team members have again worked collaboratively to ensure that we create and delivered quality, inclusive learning opportunities to our students in another year of constant change. Congratulations to all our finalists, award winners and anniversary award recipients!

With a background in Hospitality, Retail and Vocational Education and Training (VET); John provided years of training for people in the industry, jail system, disengaged youth in high schools & other at-risk communities. Hear his story first hand.

Macquarie Community College partners with social enterprise Darcy St Project to open the Darcy St Project Epping Community Cafe in the Boronia Grove Community Centre in Epping.

Macquarie Community College was delighted to host senior executives from the NSW Department of Education at its joint campus of the college and Gateway Community High

Leo felt completely left behind in an era dominated by technology and had almost no knowledge about computers. To change this, he enrolled in a Basic Computer Skills for Work & Study course at Macquarie Community College, where he exceeded throughout and graduated. Leo challenged himself once again with the Intermediate Computer Skills for Work & Study course, where he also flourished. After graduating in both courses Leo is grateful for the impact of MCC on his life and said: “I hope more and more people will take this computer skills course to catch up with digital times.”

Year 12 and university may not be the direction you want to pursue, but that’s not the end of the road. There’s never just one way to discovering your rewarding career. That's what Sherilyn found with her traineeship! She didn’t need a qualification before she started, and she could complete her Child Care Certificate at Macquarie Community College at the same time. In a few short months, her life has changed dramatically. She is bouncing out of bed because she’s loving life. She’s found her calling.

Despite experiencing significant barriers to study and enter the workforce, Sue Bryant's team of Child Care Trainers continue to deliver outstanding results from their students. “Nine out of ten students from the most recent graduating class were offered employment, with over 50 percent establishing themselves in full or part time work before they’d even finished the course”, notes Sue. Macquarie Community College have developed a new program called SKILLS4You to further bridge the gap and support learners through a holistic program. Each individual is assessed and a tailored plan developed based on their current learning and employment readiness.

The Term 3 Catalogue is out now. Step outside your comfort zone and try one of our new courses - Tarot & Oracle Card Reading, Polymer Clay Jewellery and more!