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Early Learning Careers

Bring your passion to work

What makes our early learning centres different? For us, it’s our educators.

Rewarding careers are about doing something you love, where you can make a real difference in a child’s life. When you join MercyCare Early Learning you join a team where individual strengths are celebrated, colleagues become family and a place where you can learn and grow. We value teamwork, compassionate people, professional growth and learning, having fun and supporting each other.

At MercyCare Early Learning, we celebrate you, all your strengths and skills. We want you to bring your talents and passions to our centres. With our unique philosophy of care and special programs – from our Eco Warriors to MiniChef champions, cultural celebrations to our reconciliation journey – we want you to share your passions with the next generation.

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Meaningful and rewarding Early Learning Careers

What you do each day matters. It can make a real impact on a child, a family or a colleague. For a child you can spark an imagination, ignite a passion for learning, build confidence and nurture an environment where a child can belong.

As one of the largest Western Australian not-for-profit providers of early learning services, at MercyCare we believe every child is a unique little person. We know one size certainly does not fit all, that early learning is about bringing out the special qualities and strengths that makes a child individual.

We are an organisation where our values matter. They drive our decisions and are central to the inclusive culture at our centres. We invite you to be part of our values-driven team of compassionate and experienced educators.

Traineeship Opportunities

Perks of working at MercyCare Early Learning

More in your back pocket

We want to reward our staff for their commitment, that’s why we pay above-award wages, plus as a not-for-profit organisation, with MercyCare you can pay less tax with our salary packaging options up to $15,900 per annum (eligibility requirements apply). If you have young children, our discount on child care fees at any of our excellent Early Learning Centres across Perth can come in handy.

Time for you

Having time to look after yourself, your family and community is important. That’s why our employees receive 5 weeks leave per year. We also have dedicated compassionate leave, domestic violence leave, six weeks paid parental leave and one day of special leave – because life doesn’t always fit in a box!

Learn and advance

We want to invest in you, that’s why we encourage and support professional and career development. MercyCare has Certificate III and Diploma Traineeships where you get paid for working while we pay for your education. Our Learning and Development team offers year-round opportunities, tailored and delivered based on your needs and interests. We regularly offer networking events so we can learn from and support each other. With our professional development and training and solid career pathways you can take your career where you want to.

Feel valued

We know it’s our people that make us who we are. We want to reward and recognise your dedication and expertise. We run an Employee Recognition Program, including our Annual Awards night and Service Recognition program. We also recognise your hard work needs to be valued each and every day. That’s why our managers are trained and supported to acknowledge their teams and promote a positive workplace.

The MercyCare Difference

What I love about working at MercyCare…

“A lot of the children that I see go right through from babies all the way through to kindy and relationships that I form with the families are a very strong bond.”

– Tammy Dodd

The MercyCare Difference

What I love about working at MercyCare…

“I love the people I work with I love the environments… I love the families and I love watching the children grow and develop.”

– Felicity Santoro

The MercyCare Difference

What I love about working at MercyCare…

“You see some of the little children and you think is this child going to find a cure to something is this child going to build something really amazing somewhere in Perth… you just don’t know.”

– Leah Mizen

The MercyCare Difference

What I love about working at MercyCare…

“I started here with my children and something that was really important to me was the friendships they made here to take off to school. One of them is now in high school and he’s still got those friendships.”

– Gemma Gardiner

Our staff are family

What truly makes the difference at an early learning centre? For us, it’s our early learning educators and staff. Experienced, compassionate and professional, it’s our people that make our centres what they are.

Our educators care deeply; listen to what truly matters to our families and their community; and are passionate about providing opportunities for each child to learn, discover, develop and belong.

We want you to meet just a few that embody what we stand for.

Trainee Superstars

Ashlee Eardley is one of many brilliant educators seizing the opportunity under MercyCare’s paid Traineeship program to complete her Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

“Since my very first day, all the early learning staff members were warm and welcoming to me, always happy, polite and positive. As a trainee I am always asking questions and they are always willing to guide me in the right direction. MercyCare has been great with flexible working hours and I’ve loved being part of such an amazing team,” Ashlee said.

In 2020/21 year MercyCare Early Learning employed 19 new trainees across all our Early Learning Centres, giving opportunity for diverse staff to enter the child care sector and enrich our centres with diverse cultures, life experience and much more.

Grow your career

Confidence in her talents and support by her managers enabled MercyCare Early Childhood Educator Courtney Barnard to believe in herself, setting her on the fast-track from assistant educator to the newly created role of Mission and Quality Project Lead across MercyCare’s 14 centres by the age of 26.

“I didn’t see my own potential but MercyCare and the staff around me encouraged me to apply and gave me the support I needed,” Courtney said.

“We’re all a family — our managers, our educators, we all support each other. We’re about lifting people up, whether it’s our families or in our communities.”

Diversity is our strength

Sangeeta Khadwal loves that in her role as Assistant Educator she is able to share her culture with the children and her colleagues.

“I love being able to share traditions from my home country, like the Holi festival which is close to my heart. Being at MercyCare, I felt the same joy when the children put all the colours on me, and I saw all their colourful faces and coloured clothes around me,” Sangeeta said.

“The children had so much fun celebrating Holi Festival and it was a lovely way I could share the messages of unity and diversity and expose the children to a different cultural experience.”

Experienced

Not many early childhood educators can say they’ve worked at the same centre for 35 years, let alone have the privilege of caring for two generations of the same family.

But MercyCare’s longest-serving early learning educator Anna just happens to be the exception. Anna is one of many educators who have been working with MercyCare for more than 10 years.

It is the longevity and experience of educators like Anna that is part of what draws generations of the same families to return to the centre.

The Learning Journey

Early Childhood Teacher Jasmine is a big believer in fostering a child’s imagination through play-based learning.

Whether it’s engaging children in role-play or encouraging them to participate in an interactive educational experience, Jasmine is passionate about creating a fun learning environment that reflects their individual interests, strengths and needs.

Jasmine ensures she looks at the whole child, including their physical, social, cognitive, language and wellbeing. She is also passionate about preparing older children for school, helping children develop self-regulation, build on their social confidence, independence and emotional resilience while learning literacy and numeracy.

Partners in play

For educator Stacy Hasluck, the key to engaging children in play is to be spontaneous.

Taking cues from the children’s interactions and using their interests, Stacy is often seen getting amongst the action, whether it’s extending on their learning via their imaginations or instigating a fun, hands-on activity. Stacey collaborates with children and creates a fun and safe space where they can all learn together.

By building relationships with the children and families, Stacy is guided by the child’s interests in finding stimulating ways to engage them in learning through play.