The Three-year-old Kindergarten Teachers and Educators Recruitment Case Study

Building sustainable early learning teams across metropolitan and regional Victoria

The Victorian Government’s Three-Year-Old Kinder Project is one of the most significant education reforms in Australia, expanding universal access to funded kindergarten for three-year-old children across the state.

To support this large-scale rollout, McArthur was engaged to deliver a targeted early childhood workforce solution, recruiting and mobilising qualified educators, teachers, and support staff across both metropolitan Melbourne and regional and rural communities in Victoria such as Buloke, Hindmarsh, Northern Grampians,  South Gippsland, Strathbogie, Yarriambiack and Mallee..

The Challenge: Scaling Workforce Capacity for Statewide Delivery

The introduction of the Three-Year-Old Kinder initiative required a rapid expansion of the early years workforce, with high demand for qualified early childhood professionals in established and newly funded Three-Year-Old Kinder Project.

Local councils and early learning providers faced several key challenges:

• Meeting workforce demand across metro, regional, and rural communities.
• Ensuring ACECQA-compliant staffing for every funded kindergarten program.
• Managing tight implementation timelines for program delivery.
• Building a sustainable talent pipeline to support long-term growth.

McArthur was appointed as a trusted recruitment partner to design and implement a coordinated workforce solution that addressed both immediate staffing needs and future workforce planning.

McArthur’s Solution: Targeted Recruitment and Regional Workforce Planning

With over 55 years of experience in education, local government and community recruitment, McArthur implemented a comprehensive workforce strategy to support the Victorian Department of Education and local early learning services.

Our approach included:

• Specialist early childhood recruitment teams to manage end-to-end hiring, screening, and placement.
• Regional recruitment campaigns to attract educators across Victoria, supporting workforce coverage in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
• Flexible staffing models combining permanent, temporary, and contract placements to meet local needs.
• Workforce planning consultation with councils and early learning providers to align staffing supply with enrolment growth.
• Continuous compliance checks ensuring alignment with ACECQA standards and Victorian regulations.

This framework allowed McArthur to deliver a scalable, reliable, and compliant workforce solution that supported service continuity and educational quality across the state.

The Outcome: A Workforce Ready to Deliver Quality Early Learning

Through strategic planning, regional focus, and industry expertise, McArthur helped ensure the successful rollout of Victoria’s Three-Year-Old Kinder initiative.

Key achievements included:

• Placement of qualified early childhood teachers and educators across multiple councils and service providers.
• Increased workforce availability in regional Victoria, improving equitable access to funded kindergarten.
• Reduced recruitment lead times through proactive candidate pipelines.
• A sustainable staffing framework supporting Victoria’s long-term early learning objectives.

The project highlighted McArthur’s proven ability to deliver project-based recruitment solutions that support education reform and workforce sustainability at scale.

Supporting Workforce Growth Across Education and Government Sectors

McArthur partners with education and government organisations nationwide to deliver specialist recruitment, workforce planning, and HR consulting solutions.

From regional workforce programs to statewide staffing projects, McArthur helps employers build strong, sustainable teams across the education, government, and community sectors. With offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Canberra, our consultants combine local insight and national reach to deliver tailored recruitment outcomes across Australia.

Follow the link below to find out more about the project, our solutions and the outcome for Victoria’s Three-Year-Old Kinder Project.