What is Career Start – General Pathway?

The Career Start – General Pathway funding reduces the cost of the course to you making the training more affordable and accessible. To view the DEBST student fact sheet please click here.

CHC30125 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Career Start – General Pathway funding the students must be:

  • Aged 15 years or older;
  • not be a school student;
  • Permanently reside in Queensland;
  • be one of the following:
    • an Australian citizen
    • Australian permanent resident (includes humanitarian entrant)
    • a New Zealand citizen
    • a temporary visa holder with the right visa and work permission who is on a pathway to permanent residency
  • not already have a certificate III or higher qualification completed within the last 10 years (qualifications completed as a school student, and foundation skills qualifications don’t count)
  • not be enrolled in another qualification, even if it’s on hold or deferred, whether funded by the Department of Trade, Employment and Training or not (foundation skills qualifications don’t count).

Important Information

Under Career Start, a student may access up to 2 subsidised training places through one of the following options:

  • a qualification in a certificate III under the general training pathway and an apprenticeship/traineeship, noting that if the apprenticeship/traineeship is done first, the student is no longer eligible to access a general training pathway qualification under Career Start
  • or
  • two apprenticeships/traineeships at either a certificate II or III level, including school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATs).

In addition, under Career Start, students may access one subsidised introductory-level skill set.

A student cannot do 2 general training pathway qualifications under Career Start.

Student Contribution Fees

Note: Proof of eligibility for concession must be provided prior to the commencement of training..

Credit Transfer

Students can be granted Credit Transfers towards their course on the basis of outcomes gained through participation in courses or training packages with another Registered Training Organisation.

In order for the Credit Transfers to be granted, the student must supply a copy of their course transcript and allow MECTA to access their USI Transcript. Information on how to give access will be emailed to the student during the enrolment process.

Payment Options

UPFRONT PAYMENT: Students may choose to pay up to $1500 for their course upfront. Further payments of up to $1500 can be made at a later stage in the student’s enrolment. Course fees are to be paid via bank transfer to MECTA once an invoice is received.

PAYMENT PLANS : MECTA offers payment plans to students who require them. Payment plans are individually created with the student to ensure they meet the needs of the student.

How To Apply

Step 1: Enrolment Enquiry – To let us know that you are interested in studying the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care complete an Enquiry Form online. We will assess your eligibility for funding. Once we have received this form and confirmed eligibility, we will send you information regarding your course. You will be required to send back a confirmation that you would like to go ahead training with us.

Step 2: Complete Induction course – You will be sent a link to log into our Student Management System Axcelerate to complete our online induction course. During this induction, you will be given in depth information about your course and MECTA. Once this is complete, you will be sent the online enrolment form.

Step 3: Commence Training – You will be enrolled into the Nationally Recognised Course you have chosen with MECTA and you can commence your training.