University of Canberra tackles national worker shortage with new bachelor's degree

The University of Canberra (UC) held its biggest graduation event since before COVID this week, but it was extra special for another reason.

The first cohort of graduates through a new bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education stepped onto the stage to receive their rolls as part of UC’s attempt to combat a national workforce shortage.

A recent Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) report found an estimated 21,000 early childhood educators were “urgently” needed across Australia if the sector was to survive.

“Current workforce levels are not sustainable,” JSA commissioner Professor Barney Glover said in September 2024.

“We need growth of 8 per cent to meet sustainable staffing levels and another 8 per cent growth to meet unmet demand for services.”

The report presented 28 key findings and 41 recommendations to the Federal Government, including better remuneration and support for children from diverse communities.

“The professionalism of early childhood education careers is absolutely vital,” Professor Glover later told the ABC.

“We need to recognise the importance of putting in place sustainable ongoing learning and development for all staff working in early childhood education and care centres.”

UC Associate Professor of Education Kate Highfield said the Bruce-based university had offered early childhood degrees in the past, but went back to the drawing board a few years ago to “reinvigorate” it.

“I joined UC at the end of that development process, but we had a series of consultations with the sector and obviously the appropriate peak bodies … and heard about the need for degree-qualified teachers,” she said.

“We know that from a brain development perspective, those first five years are so important … so elevating early childhood education to where it’s meant to be is a really important part of this.”

The three-year degree includes placements at various early childhood centres across Canberra including the Wiradjuri Pre-School and Child Care Centre on the university campus.

“There are many degrees across the country, but probably this is one of the more practical ones,” Professor Highfield said.

“We have a large number of placement days … One of the biggest innovations for me is that we’re taking theory and applying it to practice so quickly.”

The degree’s first five students graduated at a ceremony on Tuesday evening (25 March), including 36-year-old mother of three Carmen Ulrick.

Ms Ulrick initially started UC’s combined bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Primary Education in 2019 – two years after she started working in the sector – but moved across to the standalone degree in early 2024 almost as soon as it launched.

“I have three children who are neurodivergent and when they brought out the standalone degree, I kind of did a bit of self-reflection … and just thought a primary school classroom probably wasn’t the right move for me at this point in my life,” she told Region.

“And I just love early childhood. Young children are just the most pure, genuine form of humans. It just doesn’t get any better than that. They’re just so curious; they just love life in a way that unfortunately adults don’t much anymore and I get to enjoy that through them.”

She said much of the material carried over from her previous study, but there was “also a lot of new information very specific to early childhood”.

“I feel really lucky to be part of the first group, and I know it’s only a very small group, but we’ve got this kind of camaraderie together which is really nice.”

Ms Ulrick said she would continue working full-time at Wiradjuri and held longer-term aspirations to become a teacher in the degree “so I can help empower other childhood teachers”.

“Nothing brings me more joy – don’t tell my children I said that – than the things that come out of children’s mouths. They’re just priceless.

“There are hard moments, of course – every job has that … and everyone in the sector is probably feeling it a little bit … but the good well and truly makes up for it.”