Patrick Goldsmith, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Although its opening may not be far away, the eagerly anticipated Minlaton Family Centre is in desperate need of already-qualified staff members.

It is hoped staff orientation will begin in early January, and while several trainees have been put through their paces at its sister site in Maitland, only six diploma-qualified educators have been registered for Minlaton.

Recently installed director of the facility Tanya Geister said at least another six qualified workers would be ideal.

“The people we’d love to have involved are those who may be primary or high school teachers, they just need to do a bridging course to become qualified as an early childhood educator,” she said.

“You could also hold a diploma in early childhood education and care.

“Because there’s been no previous centres here (on southern Yorke Peninsula), people haven’t been trained to work in the industry, which we recognise.

“If you have family and friends in the city who are looking to come across, then this is the perfect opportunity.”

The centre, and Yorke Peninsula Learning and Care, were established when parent company Jawbem Group won the tender for the management of the Minlaton and Maitland sites.

Permanent part-time positions with teacher-equivalent pay rates are being offered, and any prospective employees should be excited about the chance to work in such a fantastic new facility, Ms Geister said.

“It’s a great opportunity to help your local community, this is something the community has been so desperate for,” she said.

Ms Geister has worked in early childhood education for 18 months, after a lengthy career in out-of-school-hours care for older children.

“I’ve been with the organisation for four months now, waiting to get in and set up the centre, making engaging spaces for children and leading the team we have,” Ms Geister said.

“I used to work for a nation-wide company based in Queensland, and they had no idea what was going on down here, so this is a bonus that they (Jawbem Group) are way more on the ground.

“This is a really great company which values everyone’s input, which is fantastic too.”

Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Ms Geister on tgeister@yorkepeninsulalearningandcare.au or 7524 0341.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 12 December 2023.