WITHOUT the access to a new free childhood education courses being offered from this year at Federation University TAFE, Emmley Mosely may never have had a chance to get back into the workforce.
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For the Snake Valley mum of two children - aged six and eight - now her children are at school, Mrs Mosely said she is keen to move back into the workforce and is set to take advantage of the new courses in early childhood education which are being offered for the first time.
"I've been a stay at home mum for the past eight years," Mrs Mosely said. "This is my first introduction back into the workforce, it's a wonderful opportunity.
"The reality is Ballarat is expanding and there is definitely a need for more educators.
"It makes a huge difference to have the access to free TAFE. The reality is, coming out of being a stay-at-home parent who relies on a single income, I wouldn't be able to be in this course now if it wasn't for free TAFE."
The courses are being offered as part of the state governments push to have three-year-old kinder available to all Victorians in coming years.
To make that happen, 6000 new educators will need to be trained across the state.
The program, which aims to see all three-year-old children getting at least five hours of kinder a week is being rolled out in six regional shires this year and is scheduled to be implemented in Ballarat in 2022.
Buninyong MP Michaela Settle knows exactly what Mrs Mosely is experiencing, herself having once been a stay-at-home mum before moving into the TAFE sphere to continue her own education.
"It means if you are considering going back, you have an option. For a lot of people fees a difficult, so to be able to embark on this training without fees will make an extraordinary difference.
"From my own experience, when I wanted to come back to the workforce, I came to TAFE. There was no free TAFE offered in those days, thankfully my family helped me through, but it just makes such a difference to your life to be able to come and study again."
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